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Jenna Fischer
I can't be the only person who feels like I'm constantly running out to an event like a dinner or a school function in the same four outfits, because I basically just have fallen into this pattern of rewearing the same few pieces that I've owned for years. But thanks to DailyLook, it's easier than ever to refresh your wardrobe and get event ready. It is the number one highest rated premium personal styling service for women. Dailylook provides you with a dedicated personal stylist. Hello. Thank you. Who curates a box of clothes just for you. Each box is tailored to your body shape, to your preferences, to your lifestyle.
Angela Kinsey
Hello.
Jenna Fischer
Drawstring pants. And it's delivered right to your door so you can enjoy the ease of trying everything on at home. Thank you. And you save time and effort. Whatever you don't like, you just send it back. There's free shipping included. Plus, you get real personal stylists, not just algorithms, so you get a personalized experience each day. Time Elevate your style by signing up@dailylook.com today. Take your style quiz@dailylook.com and get 50% off your first styling fee when you use Code Officeladies at checkout. Oh, office ladies listeners, we did a little detective work and do we have the scoop for you. So what is it, you ask? It's that Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide.
Angela Kinsey
We put on our sleuthing hats and confirmed that's a whole lot of places and a whole lot of acceptance. So yeah, sometimes it pays to be.
Jenna Fischer
A detective, but it always pays to Discover. Based on the February 2025 Nielsen report.
Angela Kinsey
Learn more at discover.com credit card hi there and welcome to your second drink of season two's episode Take youe Daughter to Work Day.
Jenna Fischer
Well, lady, I went back to our mailbag. Like all the way back to the folder that we had for when this episode of the podcast aired. And I looked for any letters about Take youe Daughter to Work Day that maybe we hadn't answered.
Angela Kinsey
Great.
Jenna Fischer
I mean, this is all the way back to 2020.
Angela Kinsey
I love it.
Jenna Fischer
And let me start with a fan mail flurry because after this podcast aired, I had really wondered if Jitters the coffee shop was a real place. Well, Katie N. Wrote in and said, I am listening to the Take youe Daughter to Work Day episode. And yes, jitters used to be a thing. I grew up in Boulder City, Nevada and that is what we had pre Starbucks. There was also one at the local community College in Henderson, Nevada. Not sure if they ever made it to Scranton, Pennsylvania, but I hope that gives some closure to Jenna's 40 minute hunt for nothing. And Francesca B. Said, there is a Jitters coffee shop in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I don't know when it was established, but the coffee is great and it's very cute. We also got a letter from I am not your Uncle Steve, who said Jitters was a real place in the Steamtown Mall. It was on the corner of the food court and eventually became a candy store.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, so it was in the mall.
Jenna Fischer
I guess it was. And then finally, Ms. Rainshuttle said, My friend's husband's family used to own Jitters.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, my gosh. You found the people.
Jenna Fischer
But the mall refused to renew their lease and replaced it with a Starbucks.
Angela Kinsey
Oh.
Jenna Fischer
But I have to just say thank you, everyone, because when I was revisiting our breakdown of this, I was reminded that I spent a very long time trying to find out if Jitters was a real place. And I appreciate knowing.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. Well, you guys also sent in some fun background catches for this episode. I love a background catch. This one from Theresa W. Is fantastic. Okay, so listen, you might remember that we had been tracking Angela and Roy, and we had been looking for signs of their romance. And I also loved how Teresa started her letter. Ready?
Jenna Fischer
Okay.
Angela Kinsey
She wrote, okay, okay, okay. Get ready for your mind to be blown. Eight exclamation points. You guys are tracking Angela and Roy. At around 15 minutes of the Bring youg Daughter to Work Day episode, when Roy is wrestling with Meredith's kid, it zooms out to Jim, and in the background is Angela watching Roy wrestle and smiling. I think that Angela sees how strong Roy is and is pleased with him. I think she also sees how fun he can be. And Angela is kind of attracted to that. I mean, I have no doubt that Angela was delighted watching Roy wrestle. Be kind of a dad figure. I think she was into him, you know?
Jenna Fischer
Did Angela have more lovers on the show than anyone else? I was thinking about this the other day because she is so judgmental of Pam.
Angela Kinsey
The Pam. Pam the office mattress.
Jenna Fischer
Exactly. But the truth is, she dated a lot of folks and a lot of folks in the office.
Angela Kinsey
It's true. It is true.
Jenna Fischer
Andy and Dwight, but also the senator.
Angela Kinsey
Yes.
Jenna Fischer
Am I missing someone? I feel like there's someone I'm missing.
Angela Kinsey
The senator wasn't in the office.
Jenna Fischer
No, true, but I don't know.
Angela Kinsey
Well, she did say that she's had more than one set of men duel over her.
Jenna Fischer
Yes, exactly.
Angela Kinsey
Another background catch. Comes from Basma K. Basma says Toby does something interesting in the background at 11 minutes and 26 seconds. And then again at 11 minutes and 30 seconds, he's in the kitchen behind the window blinds, quietly watching Michael give a tour of the office to the kids as Creed begins to take off his shoes. I just thought Paul was hilarious in that scene.
Jenna Fischer
You know, one of my favorite things about rewatching the show is watching little background moments like this, because we were always just filling the moment with our reactions to things, and you really can't see them all the first time you watch. So I loved this. Thank you for pointing this out. This was very, very fun.
Angela Kinsey
Mm.
Jenna Fischer
Well, I noticed that we didn't talk much about the deleted scenes in this episode, and a lot of them have been added back to the peacock superfan episode. My favorite is a new cold, open conference room scene. Angela, you are trying to set the menu for take your daughter to work Day. You have to hear it.
Angela Kinsey
I think five plain and one veggie should be fine.
Jenna Fischer
How about pepperoni?
Angela Kinsey
No, I like extra cheese. Absolutely not.
Jenna Fischer
I like extra cheese too.
Angela Kinsey
Fine. The first lesson we'll teach the children will be about obesity.
Jenna Fischer
And then you can't really hear it, but under his breath, B.J. as Ryan goes, thank you, because he's gonna get the pizza he wanted. The other two deleted moments that I wanted to flag, they're real heartbreakers. Actually, the first one was pointed out by Logan T. Who said, I don't know if you noticed this or not, but in Boys and Girls, Pam is drawing a picture that you can see at 14 minutes and 54 seconds. And then it comes up later in a deleted scene of Take youe Daughter to Work Day when Kevin's girlfriend's daughter sees that same picture on Pam's desk.
Angela Kinsey
Yes. While Kevin's fiance's daughter Abby is played by Greg's daughter, Haley.
Jenna Fischer
Yes. So in this episode, Pam is desperately trying to bond with a kid, and at one point, Abby comes up to her desk to get some candy, and Abby and Pam have this little exchange. When Abby notices this drawing. Let's listen.
Angela Kinsey
Did you draw that?
Jenna Fischer
Yeah. Do you like to draw, Abby?
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. I want to be an artist when I grow up.
Jenna Fischer
Me too. You are a grown up.
Angela Kinsey
You are a grown up. I know this is the truth. Out of, like, the mouth of babes.
Jenna Fischer
Yes. Yes. And then there was also a tag at the end of the episode that is new. In the Superfan episode, it shows Michael continuing to watch the footage from the children's show Remember earlier we see part of the children's show that Ryan had to go to his mom's house to get the tape. But the only part we see in the episode as it originally aired was the part where little Michael is being very awkward and he's saying he wants to have 100 kids so he can have 100 friends so no one can say no to being his friend. But in the footage at the end, little Michael is seen performing magic for the other kids and he's making them laugh. And then at the end, a little girl comes up and whispers in his ear and he smiles like she's maybe flirting with him. It is so touching. And this is one that I really wish lived in the original episode.
Angela Kinsey
It is such a tender moment and just again, some of the things I'm loving in these new little nuggets that Dave Rogers is so carefully crafting.
Jenna Fischer
Yes, finally.
Angela Kinsey
I just wanted to say thank you to my fellow Looby's lovers out there. You know Luby's, the cafeteria I would go to with my grandparents.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, you talk all about it in this episode.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, I know. Well, Tyler M. From Wichita Falls, Texas.
Jenna Fischer
What's up?
Angela Kinsey
Wichita Falls, I mean, you know, I know Wichita Falls. I mean, we went there all the time. Tyler says, my great grandparents always took me to Luby's anytime I was with them. Tyler, I bet we were there at the same time.
Jenna Fischer
Probably.
Angela Kinsey
Tyler says, my heart was warmed hearing Angela rave about it. I got super ecstatic hearing her even just mention Texoma. And next thing you know she mentioned my hometown. And Diana Kay said, growing up in San Antonio, I ate there all the time with my grandparents. It was clearly a grandparents go to. We would meet them there at the same location on Sunday afternoons following church. And it was the highlight of my week. I loved getting my own tray and picking out whatever I wanted, including dessert. And feeling so grown up now when I visit, I try to eat at one at least once. Woohoo. Texas girls unite.
Jenna Fischer
I love those. Well, listen. Thanks everyone for listening and please enjoy our breakdown of Take youe Daughter to Work Day. I'm Jenna Fisher.
Angela Kinsey
And I'm Angela Kinsey.
Jenna Fischer
We were on the Office together and we're best friends. And now we're doing the ultimate Office Rewatch 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. Hey.
Angela Kinsey
Hello.
Jenna Fischer
If you have a daughter, you can take her to work today. Yes, it's take your daughter to work day to Dunder Mifflin Season 2 Episode 18 this one's written by Mindy Kaling and directed by Victor Nelly Jr. Victor Nelly. Second one. He's directed.
Angela Kinsey
Yes. Prolific TV director. He's fantastic.
Jenna Fischer
We really liked him.
Angela Kinsey
He was so nice.
Jenna Fischer
Should I start with a summary?
Angela Kinsey
Jenna, you. You know that's how you start.
Jenna Fischer
I know.
Angela Kinsey
Just do it.
Jenna Fischer
I should just do it in order.
Angela Kinsey
I like every week, though, that you ask me every week. You're like, should I start with a summary? Like, what if I was like, no, not today, lady.
Jenna Fischer
What would I do?
Angela Kinsey
I don't know.
Jenna Fischer
Would I listen to you or would I just do it anyway?
Angela Kinsey
You'd probably be deer in headlights. You know what?
Jenna Fischer
Try it some week and we'll see.
Angela Kinsey
Okay, I will.
Jenna Fischer
But not this week. You told me to do it.
Angela Kinsey
Do it.
Jenna Fischer
Here I go. In this episode, the Dunder Mifflin employees bring their daughters to work for the day. Stanley brings his teenage daughter who starts crushing on Ryan.
Angela Kinsey
I mean, she's just a version of Mindy, right?
Jenna Fischer
A little bit.
Angela Kinsey
A little bit.
Jenna Fischer
What is it about Ryan? The ladies love Ryan.
Angela Kinsey
I know.
Jenna Fischer
Kevin brings his fiance's daughter.
Angela Kinsey
Right.
Jenna Fischer
Meredith brings her son. And Toby brings his kind of shy 5 year old daughter who ends up bonding with Michael. Also in this episode, Pam makes it her mission to befriend just one kid. Just one.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. We learned that Pam is not good with kids.
Jenna Fischer
Apparently not. All right, should we do our fast facts?
Angela Kinsey
Why are you asking me?
Jenna Fischer
Because that's part of it.
Angela Kinsey
Yes, do them.
Jenna Fischer
Part of doing the fast facts is me asking you if I should do the fast facts.
Angela Kinsey
Jenna, you should do your fast facts.
Jenna Fischer
All right, fast fact number one. We got a lot of questions about the kids in this episode, so let's break them down one by one. Stanley's daughter Melissa was played by Jazz Ray Cole.
Angela Kinsey
Okay.
Jenna Fischer
And she is a professional actress, no relation to anyone on the show. We hired her. She was also on the sitcom My Wife and Kids. When she shot this episode. She was 17 or 18 years old. So her birthday is in February. And I think that's right around the time we were shooting. And I have this memory of her telling me that she had just turned 18.
Angela Kinsey
Aww.
Jenna Fischer
When I first came to Los Angeles, I was in my 20s, but I looked like I was a teenager.
Angela Kinsey
Right.
Jenna Fischer
And so I had this special agent who would send me out for roles to play high school kids, because when you have a kid on a set, they have very limited work hours. They have child hours according to the union rules. And so they can't work as long of days. They have to take these breaks. There has to be a tutor who teaches them school. School stuff. So if you look older than 18, but you can play a kid. This is like a little niche market.
Angela Kinsey
I was in 90210.
Jenna Fischer
Oh my gosh, Angela. No you were not.
Angela Kinsey
I was in 90210 and I didn't have lines. My biggest moment though was when I played Tori Spelling's sorority sister and we were collecting votes. I think they were going to vote some girl out of the sorority. And I collected the votes and I had to hand them to Tori. Whoa. Yes. So I remember. I remember it like it was kind of cool if you could get parts like that because you could work longer hours and you were older, playing younger.
Jenna Fischer
I got to be in the movie Pleasantville with Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon.
Angela Kinsey
That's a good one.
Jenna Fischer
Uh huh. And I got to work a whole week, which is really exciting. I was just a featured extra.
Angela Kinsey
Me too. When I was the sorority sister, I was the featured extra.
Jenna Fischer
Yes, I was a featured extra in Pleasantville because I was over 18 to play under.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. Oh my gosh, I love that.
Jenna Fischer
Toby's daughter Sasha was played by Delaney Ruth Farrell. Now here's a little interesting tidbit about her.
Angela Kinsey
What?
Jenna Fischer
She was the daughter of our set dresser, Sean Farrell.
Angela Kinsey
Aw.
Jenna Fischer
So you maybe remember we had an establishing shot of Toby's desk a while ago where he explains that he's divorced and he has a daughter. And there is a picture of a little blonde girl. He says, this is Sasha. That picture was placed there by Shawn of his daughter. So when it came time to do this episode, we kind of had to use her.
Angela Kinsey
Wait, so did. Wait, did Shawn just sort of make that happen?
Jenna Fischer
Yeah, Shawn just put a picture of his daughter on Toby's desk.
Angela Kinsey
Well, she's very cute.
Jenna Fischer
So cute. And she was so good.
Angela Kinsey
She did great.
Jenna Fischer
Not an actress, just daughter of our set dresser. Yeah. And she's gonna come back again in Family Portrait day. Okay, so now Meredith's son.
Angela Kinsey
Meredith's son is. Hard to say.
Jenna Fischer
Meredith's son.
Angela Kinsey
You guys, Jenna has tried it three times.
Jenna Fischer
I have Meredith's son. Meredith's son Palmer was played by Spencer Daniels. No relation to Greg Daniels.
Angela Kinsey
Nope.
Jenna Fischer
Wikipedia, you're wrong.
Angela Kinsey
Okay, did you hear us fix it.
Jenna Fischer
Okay, maybe that was somewhere else.
Angela Kinsey
I read Dunderpedia.
Jenna Fischer
Maybe it was Dunder. One of the Pedias is saying that Spencer Daniels is Greg Daniels son. He is not.
Angela Kinsey
Not the case.
Jenna Fischer
Now Spencer is also going to come back in season eight, episode 24, Family Portrait Day. Fan question from curly haired Tess and Hannah Bursell and Lisa Farr and many others. Was Meredith's son played by the same actor when he came back as the stripper for Angela's bachelorette party in season nine?
Angela Kinsey
We'll get there, but that's one of the most uncomfortable moments of my life.
Jenna Fischer
Yes, it's the same actor.
Angela Kinsey
Yes. Oh.
Jenna Fischer
Yes, yes. Same guy. And he's still acting today. So he is a professional actor.
Angela Kinsey
I mean, that wasn't for him as a person. It was just that.
Jenna Fischer
Right?
Angela Kinsey
It's just a young boy.
Jenna Fischer
We met him when he was a boy. Oh, Lord. And then when he was a man, he stripped at your fictional bachelorette party.
Angela Kinsey
Okay.
Jenna Fischer
And then finally there was Kevin's fiance's daughter Abby, who was played by Hailey Daniels, who is Greg Daniels daughter.
Angela Kinsey
Yes. Haley is so, so sweet.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
And she did a great job. So good. Not an actor.
Jenna Fischer
Not an actor.
Angela Kinsey
She did such a great job. Just she had to be very deadpan and I thought she was hilarious.
Jenna Fischer
Fast fact number two, a lot of people ask, what was it like to do an episode with all these kids around. Now what did you remember about that, Ange?
Angela Kinsey
Well, I mean, Haley was in our little accounting nook quite a bit and I just wanted to make sure she was good. Yeah, I think I just wanted to make sure she would like, do. Do you need to go to the bathroom? Do you have snacks? I just sort of became that person.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
But obviously when kids are in an adult work environment, you do change your behavior or you should.
Jenna Fischer
So I remember we got a little lecture about it.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, we got a little talking to you.
Angela Kinsey
We got a little talking to you.
Jenna Fischer
Actually at the beginning of filming.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, at the beginning of filming, just like, hey, guys, there's gonna be kids on set. Let's just mind our manners today. And actually when Michael and you have that scene in the cold open where you're like, michael, I talked to you about this. That actually reminded me of whenever we had people visiting the set. Yeah, whenever. Sometimes families would visit the set. They would win like some type of visit and a whole family would come. And a lot of times R A D Kelly Cantley would be like, hey, everyone, heads up. Young children.
Jenna Fischer
Keep it G rated.
Angela Kinsey
Not that we were like a body group, but you know, it's like a group of adults all day.
Jenna Fischer
I feel like when there weren't kids around though, there was quite a bit of cursing.
Angela Kinsey
There were. Yes.
Jenna Fischer
That's. You know. So there were adult words. There were adult words, but besides that, we weren't.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, super.
Jenna Fischer
Like weird or inappropriate or anything.
Angela Kinsey
No, but our scripts were. Half the time. Half the time there were things that were said within the context of a script where I'm like, yeah, yeah, that's true. Okay.
Jenna Fischer
All right, Fast fact number three. This was sent in by a fan. I loved this. Thank you so much. Kelly Nudo. She tipped me off to the fact that Funnel Bundle, you know, the little TV program that Michael was on as a child in this episode, it was inspired by a real local children's program in Scranton called the Land of Hatchie Malachi.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, my Lord, I love that.
Jenna Fischer
Yes, it was a little program for kids that started in the 50s. It ran for almost 25 years.
Angela Kinsey
Local.
Jenna Fischer
Local Scranton. Yes. It featured songs and appearances by kids just like our version. It was originally hosted by a woman named Nancy Berg, who was referred to as Miss Nancy. And then it was hosted by Ms. Judy, who was played by Lois Burns. I don't know why they called her Miss Judy when her name was Lois, but they did. And of course, in our version, we had Ms. Trudy, who was played by actress Sue Nelson and Edward R. Meow. Yes. But this was really sweet. Lois, who played Ms. Judy, was interviewed recently about her time on the Land of Hatchie Malachi. And she loves Hachi Malachi. Hatchie Malachi.
Angela Kinsey
Hachi Malachi. Sorry. It just makes me laugh.
Jenna Fischer
I know.
Angela Kinsey
Okay. What did she say about the Land of Hatchie Malachi?
Jenna Fischer
She said that their goal was to make sure that every kid knew they were important. Aw.
Angela Kinsey
I love that. I love that little tidbit. Thank you, Kelly, for writing in, because that is, like, I don't even know how we would find that.
Jenna Fischer
No, that's so great. Thank you. It's not on any of the website that I usually go to for research.
Angela Kinsey
For the deep dive.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah. All right, thank you. She's over on Office Ladies Pod over on our Insta. She sent me a message.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, that's so cool.
Jenna Fischer
Thanks.
Angela Kinsey
All right. Those were some really good fast facts, lady. High five.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, high five me.
Angela Kinsey
That was Jenna and I high fiving.
Jenna Fischer
It was.
Angela Kinsey
It's kind of awkward because we have to reach across the table and two.
Jenna Fischer
Microphones and I always worry about your cards.
Angela Kinsey
Don't mess up my cards.
Jenna Fischer
Don't mess up your cards.
Angela Kinsey
All right, let's take a break and come back and get into this episode.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah. Angela, do you have A favorite sandwich. I'm not gonna let you answer. I'm gonna 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 lunch. We love Boar's Head Honey Turkey. It is on our shopping list every single, 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 going to 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 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. Imagine if you could ask someone anything you wanted about their finances. How much do you make? Who paid for that fancy dinner? What did your house actually cost? On every episode of what We Spend, a different guest opens up their wallets, opens up their lives, really, and tells us all about their finances. For one week, they tell us everything.
Angela Kinsey
They spend their money on. My son slammed like $6 worth of.
Jenna Fischer
Blueberries in five minutes. This is a podcast about all the.
Angela Kinsey
Ways money comes into our lives and then leaves again.
Jenna Fischer
Which of course, we all have a.
Angela Kinsey
Lot of feelings about.
Jenna Fischer
I really want these things. I want to own a house, I want to have a child. But this morning I really wanted a coffee. Because whatever you are buying or not buying or saving or spending, at the end of the day, money is always.
Angela Kinsey
About more than your balance.
Jenna Fischer
I'm Courtney Harrell and this is what we spend, listen to, and follow what we spend. An Odyssey original podcast available now wherever you get your podcasts.
Angela Kinsey
So I love a tote bag. I love a purse. It's my little splurge for myself. And some of the brands out there can get really pricey. So I love Rebag because it's. It is a luxury resale platform that buys and sells designer handbags, watches, fine jewelry and more, providing an accessible and sustainable alternative to buying new. It's so great that these are being repurposed.
Jenna Fischer
Yes, you can shop weekly. New arrivals from top brands, including Louis Vuitton and cartier. So yeah, if you want to buy or sell an investment worthy bag, watch or find jewelry, check out Rebag.com. the website is awesome. They have like really detailed descriptions so you know exactly what to expect out of your purchase. They take a lot of care in their packaging so, you know, even just unboxing your purchase feels luxurious.
Angela Kinsey
Shop now on Rebag.com and get 10% off your first purchase with code officeladies.
Jenna Fischer
All right, we're back. Let's start breaking down this episode. We open with a Pam talking head.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
She explains that it's take your daughter to work day. And she says, I'm not actually great with kids, but I want to get better because I'm getting married. So she's going to put out lots of extra candy on her desk.
Angela Kinsey
Lots of candy. She got like a potted plant. Did you see that? That was like a last minute store craft. There's like all of a sudden a plant.
Jenna Fischer
No, I did not notice that.
Angela Kinsey
I have a little thing for my background pals. All right, at nine seconds, freeze frame. You're gonna see over your shoulder. It's on the accounting side.
Jenna Fischer
Okay.
Angela Kinsey
The uncle Sam. Do you remember the uncle Sam? Oh, yeah.
Jenna Fischer
Why did we have that guy?
Angela Kinsey
It was a doll of uncle Sam. Yeah, he had the 4th of July hat on. He had a flag. You could hit a button and I think he would play yankee doodle dandy or something. I don't know. It sat there.
Jenna Fischer
When did he show up? From the beginning.
Angela Kinsey
I think he's there from the beginning. I, I mean, I have a memory of him because like I would turn around to go and talk to you. He's what I would pass first. So the first time I turned around, I was like, oh, God. History of uncle sam is a common national personification of the U. S. Federal government. According to legend, it came into use during the War of 1812 and was supposedly named for Samuel Wilson.
Jenna Fischer
Who was Samuel Wilson?
Angela Kinsey
Well, I'll click on him. I'll tell you where.
Jenna Fischer
Are you reading? Is this Wikipedia?
Angela Kinsey
Wikipedia. Samuel Wilson was a meat packer from Troy, New York, whose name is purportedly the source of the personification of the United States. Uncle Sam.
Jenna Fischer
Kind of looks like it's going in a circle.
Angela Kinsey
It is going in a circle.
Jenna Fischer
I need to know more about meatpacker sam.
Angela Kinsey
Meatpacker Sam. Anyway, that's uncle Sam. He sat over my shoulder for nine years.
Jenna Fischer
I think I'm going to spend more time on that after the podcast is over. So if you want more Uncle Sam facts. I might bring them to our candy bag.
Angela Kinsey
Okay. Bring them to the candy bag.
Jenna Fischer
So I noticed something for kind of the detail, folks. At 21 seconds, the candy on Pam's desk is suckers and lifesavers.
Angela Kinsey
Lollipop things.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah, it pretty much stays that way. However, in the previous shot at 10 seconds, there's a bowl of lemon drops, a bowl of starburst, and a candy dish full of jelly beans.
Angela Kinsey
And then those are gone. And then there's lollipops.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
Candy continuity.
Jenna Fischer
Candy continuity.
Angela Kinsey
What happened?
Jenna Fischer
And then I hold up bags of even more candy, which is none of those things.
Angela Kinsey
It's like Jolly Ranchers. Yep, I know.
Jenna Fischer
Fan question from Michelle Mange. Did Jenna get to decide what candy was sitting at reception? No.
Angela Kinsey
I'm gonna say no.
Jenna Fischer
They just gave it to me. But she also wants to know, how often did you guys eat it?
Angela Kinsey
A lot.
Jenna Fischer
I ate a ton of that candy all the time, everybody. I would get sick.
Angela Kinsey
People would walk up, and you would think they were coming to talk to you, but they were just coming for candy.
Jenna Fischer
It's true.
Angela Kinsey
I remember you would sometimes be like, oh, hey. And then it was just like, digging in the candy bowl.
Jenna Fischer
I don't remember you eating a lot of it. Do you have a sweet tooth? I don't think of you as having a candy sweet tooth.
Angela Kinsey
No. No, I don't. Yep.
Jenna Fischer
We're different that way.
Angela Kinsey
We're different.
Jenna Fischer
I do. All right. So now Michael comes out of his office, and Pam explains that he cannot be nasty today because kids are coming.
Angela Kinsey
Name's Pam, Ms. Beasley, if you're nasty. Oh, I'm sorry. Are you having a wardrobe malfunction? Janet Jackson? You're like, no, stop.
Jenna Fischer
Shut it down, Michael. So Michael is very annoyed. He has a talking head. He says he you. Why is he gonna be held back today? He is like Eddie Murphy in Raw.
Angela Kinsey
He is hbo. No limits.
Jenna Fischer
No limits. And now we're asking him to be Eddie Murphy in Daddy Daycare.
Angela Kinsey
No.
Jenna Fischer
I mean, can you. Why are we doing this to him?
Angela Kinsey
I know. He. I mean, I love that he thinks of as his workplace, as, like, a place where R rated content is.
Jenna Fischer
Should be. That's.
Angela Kinsey
That's where it happens. Is at work. He's like a human resources nightmare. He is.
Jenna Fischer
So Pam convinces Michael to welcome the kids. He comes out into the bullpen. He tries to welcome them. I don't know. He. He really is not into it.
Angela Kinsey
He's not into it, but he tries to compare it, like, hmm, let me. Let me put this in speak. Oh, I should compare myself to a superhero. And so he's like, I'm like the, you know, guy. I'm like Superman in Gotham City. And it's the one time, like, it. This happens so rarely when Jim and Dwight are both on the same page. They're like, that's Batman. And he's like, fine, I'm Aquaman. But it's like Jim and Dwight were actually, like, together.
Jenna Fischer
It's true.
Angela Kinsey
One moment for that.
Jenna Fischer
One moment to correct Michael.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. Okay. Can we just talk about how cute the little girl that plays Sasha is?
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
And when Paul, as Toby, walks her through the kitchen, and then Dwight's like, hello, tiny one. You are the future. Like, just Dwight's idea. And, like, how he sees children. It just made me laugh.
Jenna Fischer
I think Toby seems like a really good father in this episode.
Angela Kinsey
I do too.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah. He has the most kind of. He's gentle parental instincts. Of all the people that we see parenting in this episode, I agree.
Angela Kinsey
I think Toby's a great dad. He might be a little sad, but he's a great dad.
Jenna Fischer
So now we go to the scene in accounting where Kevin is explaining his file cabinet to Abby.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, man.
Jenna Fischer
She's thrilled.
Angela Kinsey
She's thrilled. I mean, you know, he's showing her the file cabinet, but there is a giant vat of M&Ms.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
Like, why doesn't he just say, do you want some M and Ms?
Jenna Fischer
At 2 minutes, 30 seconds. We had a fan catch.
Angela Kinsey
Okay, Fayell.
Jenna Fischer
1, 2, 3. Says Angela has a dog photo on her side of the partition. Angela, she is not the only person who noticed this. Michelle Sexton also noticed we got two emails about this dog poster on your partition. Michelle wants to know, what does the sign say? I tried to look at it, and I couldn't tell what it says.
Angela Kinsey
Okay, well, actually, there's a great screen grab of it at 44 seconds.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, okay.
Angela Kinsey
The dog is actually holding up a sign, and it says, will love for food.
Jenna Fischer
Oh.
Angela Kinsey
And I think it's like an adoption or, like, food donation or something for animals.
Jenna Fischer
Do you remember this going up? Why did it all of a sudden appear on your side of the podcast?
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, it wasn't normally there. And I will tell you guys this. I don't know specifically why this one went up at that moment, but I can tell you, sometimes Matt Sohn, our B camera operator, or Randall Einhorn, a camera would need to be shooting and accounting, and they were quite a bit for this episode. And that glass partition would make a glare.
Jenna Fischer
Okay.
Angela Kinsey
And so sometimes they would strategically put a little piece of paper of some kind on the glass partition to sort of block the bounce of that glare. Oh.
Jenna Fischer
So that they wouldn't get their own reflection in the glass.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. And so they did that sometimes. So all of a sudden, I'd sit down to do a scene, and I'd be like, what is that?
Jenna Fischer
Where are all these papers?
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. And it would be to sort of block that glare and them being able to see the camera or the boom.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, my gosh. So the dog paper was a glare blocker.
Angela Kinsey
I think the way they were shooting to catch Abby through the partition and Kevin, there was a glare, and so they put that up. They would often do that. And then that's when I would have random signs on the partition. And you know that Kevin and I. I've said this before. Of everywhere in the bullpen. We're the only desk pod with a partition.
Jenna Fischer
Yes.
Angela Kinsey
And you know, my backstory for this is, I think, Angela Martin request, because Kevin's disgusting.
Jenna Fischer
Well, next we move to Kevin's talking head, where he just says he really hopes that Abby doesn't look on his computer.
Angela Kinsey
Why is Kevin such a perv?
Jenna Fischer
This is the second time he's worried about what's on his computer. I mean, Kevin, did you learn nothing after email surveillance? I know, but also, you didn't scrub your computer after that.
Angela Kinsey
Also, Kevin, just stop being gross.
Jenna Fischer
All right, so now Stanley introduces Michael to his daughter Melissa.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, man.
Jenna Fischer
She's wearing some headphones. Michael says, wow. How do we explain what Michael says?
Angela Kinsey
He says, she's a stone cold fox.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah. And to keep the frat boys away from her.
Angela Kinsey
And then she Sundays, I'm in eighth grade.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah. She's a middle schooler.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, Michael, that was really awkward.
Jenna Fischer
This moves us into Michael's talking head where he says, this is a quote that a lot of people emailed about. He says, it's not that children make me uncomfortable. It's just, why be a dad when you can be a fun uncle? And a lot of people thought that this was a continuity error because we've heard so much about how Michael wants a family and wants to have kids. And they were saying, why does Michael say that he doesn't want to be a dad?
Angela Kinsey
Oh, no, he's not saying that.
Jenna Fischer
He's. He's compensating for the fact that he's not a dad.
Angela Kinsey
I guess he is just giving himself a pep talk.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
All Michael wants to do is have a family.
Jenna Fischer
For sure.
Angela Kinsey
For sure. And I think in this moment he's just, like, trying to put a good spin on where his life is at for himself.
Jenna Fischer
I think so, too. Yeah, I think so, too.
Angela Kinsey
It kind of made me sad because, you know, that's not really where his heart's at.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, well, just wait. I know.
Angela Kinsey
Made it sadder.
Jenna Fischer
I sobbed twice during this episode. We'll get to that.
Angela Kinsey
At 3 minutes, 31 seconds, we meet Jake, Meredith's son. Yeah, Meredith's son.
Jenna Fischer
Meredith's son. A hard thing to say.
Angela Kinsey
He was suspended from school. He's kind of a rascal.
Jenna Fischer
That's a nice way to put it.
Angela Kinsey
I know. I wrote a different word. It rhymes with smash mo. But, yeah, he's just not nice. And I'm like. I mean, he's, like, throwing things at people. He's like a name insulting people. I know.
Jenna Fischer
His shirt. Did you see what his shirt says? Yes, it says something like, I have already forgotten your name.
Angela Kinsey
Yes, that's what it says.
Jenna Fischer
I mean, Meredith.
Angela Kinsey
Meredith.
Jenna Fischer
Why are you letting him walk around with that ongoing? Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
Okay, so the next scene I love. It's 3 minutes, 44 seconds. We're in the conference room. We're setting up for something. It looks like there might be a party aspect to this day.
Jenna Fischer
It's you, Kelly, and Ryan.
Angela Kinsey
Kelly's helping me put a tablecloth on the conference room. But she's.
Jenna Fischer
I just want to say, remember in the Christmas episode when you. Pam is not helping you put it on.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
Kelly is also not really helping you put it on anytime there's a party.
Angela Kinsey
I totally relate to Angela because you guys are a bunch of jerks that. You know what?
Jenna Fischer
I have a feeling that every time we try to help you with that tablecloth, you yell at us.
Angela Kinsey
I don't think so.
Jenna Fischer
And that's why we're not helping you with it.
Angela Kinsey
I don't think so.
Jenna Fischer
You probably nitpick how we're doing it. That's what I. Why does no one help you with the tablecloth?
Angela Kinsey
Because you're a bunch of slackers.
Jenna Fischer
Nope. You're a bunch of slackers. Because you'll say, just as you at. You're about to shoot down a child. And so I'm just saying. Anyway, this might be why it's all on you.
Angela Kinsey
She's trying to set up for this party. Ryan and Kelly aren't helping. I mean, Kelly's looking at Ryan. Ryan's like, don't look at me. And I'm in the meantime, like, eh. Anyway, Toby walks in with Sasha, his daughter, and she very sweetly says, can I Help. So sweet.
Jenna Fischer
So sweet.
Angela Kinsey
Angela's like, no, no. I'd have to explain everything to you. No. And then Kelly, I look at Kelly and I'm like, no. And I love Paul's delivery of, like, well, I didn't see it going that way.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah. Like, he's like, it's not what I was expecting.
Angela Kinsey
Not. Not what I was expecting.
Jenna Fischer
Yes. I love that scene.
Angela Kinsey
Kelly was so excited. She's like, I love babies. I can't wait to have babies. Ryan is really funny in this episode. BJ is great. He has some really funny moments. And he's just like, basically, Kelly, just her idea of hooking up is just having babies with me as soon as possible.
Jenna Fischer
Well, his talking head, he's like, kelly and I agreed we were just gonna have fun. But what I'm realizing is that fun for Kelly means getting married and having babies as soon as possible with me. So that's her definition of having fun.
Angela Kinsey
And don't hook up with anyone like that on February 13th.
Jenna Fischer
That's right. I like your line in this scene, Angela.
Angela Kinsey
I get quoted this a lot.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
When she asked me if I would like to have kids. And I say, well, maybe some small, well behaved boys.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
So weird.
Jenna Fischer
Small, well behaved boys.
Angela Kinsey
Small. I don't want big, big boys.
Jenna Fischer
Apparently not.
Angela Kinsey
I want tiny, petite boys.
Jenna Fischer
All right, so next up, Michael is on the phone to corporate, and Toby's daughter Sasha walks in. Yeah, she. Then she leaves, but then she comes back later and starts playing with his toy train.
Angela Kinsey
They're so sweet together.
Jenna Fischer
So sweet.
Angela Kinsey
Michael's so tickled. He's having such a great time with her.
Jenna Fischer
I know. They do the train whistle and he really.
Angela Kinsey
Steve. When we were filming that, Steve actually kept making the kids crack up. Do you remember that? I remember how hard it was for Haley to keep a straight face. And Delaney, too. Steve was cracking her up. It was really sweet.
Jenna Fischer
Well, we had a couple fan questions about that. Katie Procido said, I always love episodes where we get to see Michael interacting with kids, because you can just tell that Steve Carell likes being around kids.
Angela Kinsey
He's a great dad.
Jenna Fischer
He is. And Beth White said, is Steve really this good with kids in real life? Yes, he is.
Angela Kinsey
He is.
Jenna Fischer
He is. The kids were so tickled by him.
Angela Kinsey
He's a sweetheart.
Jenna Fischer
And we should say, you mentioned earlier, Angela, how families would sometimes come and visit. Steve was such a great ambassador for the show. He would always go into our green room and meet the families and take the kids on a little tour and show them his Office. Yes. Well, I think now Pam is gonna try to get Abby to help her shred some old documents.
Angela Kinsey
Shut down.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
Pam gets shut down.
Jenna Fischer
No, Abby's reading on the couch in reception. But then Jim says, hey, I've read that book. Yeah, they have a little banter.
Angela Kinsey
They bond.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah. Abby agrees to help him with sales. Now, I want to say something here.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, okay. I feel a soapbox coming.
Jenna Fischer
It's tiny. It's a very. It's a small opinion.
Angela Kinsey
Okay.
Jenna Fischer
Observation.
Angela Kinsey
Okay.
Jenna Fischer
Jim knows that it's Pam's goal to befriend a kid, but rather than help her bond with Abby, he just kind of shows off and steals Abby away.
Angela Kinsey
I think this is all hurt feelings, Pam talking, because. But did you notice?
Jenna Fischer
I mean, I thought that was a little bit of, like, passive aggressive. I don't know what it is, but it was a little bit of, like, come on, it's not that hard. I can do it.
Angela Kinsey
Like.
Jenna Fischer
Like Jim watch me bond with a kid.
Angela Kinsey
So it's like a competition?
Jenna Fischer
Yes. It felt a little bit weirdly competitive.
Angela Kinsey
Hmm. Okay.
Jenna Fischer
Do you not see that?
Angela Kinsey
Well, I guess I do. I guess I also just thought Jim was being really nice.
Jenna Fischer
No, he knows Pam's goal. And I think if he were really being nice at the end of that whole spiel, he would have said, and, Pam, why don't you join us?
Angela Kinsey
Or he might have said, do you know who else loves books? Pam.
Jenna Fischer
Yes. Yes. This is what I'm saying. He doesn't help facilitate anything. He just comes in and shows off.
Angela Kinsey
Maybe it's not his job to help Pam.
Jenna Fischer
It is. It is his job to help her.
Angela Kinsey
Pam is not his responsibility. Pam is getting married. He's ticked off.
Jenna Fischer
See, that's what I'm saying. That's what I'm saying. That's what's underneath it. See, before they got in all these little fights and all the wedding date was set. I think Jim would have facilitated, maybe. But now he's like, boundary Jim. Now he's like, I have boundaries. I don't help you anymore because I'm not your fiance.
Angela Kinsey
Also, maybe I'm practicing self care. Pam.
Jenna Fischer
Wow. I see what side you're on.
Angela Kinsey
Okay, okay, okay, here we go.
Jenna Fischer
Well, let's talk about how Dwight is doing with the kids.
Angela Kinsey
Okay, let's.
Jenna Fischer
Abby is hanging out with Jim, and Jim's doing that thing where, you know, she's shaking his hand. He's like, oh, man, you're crushing me.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, wait, I watched this with Isabel.
Jenna Fischer
Okay.
Angela Kinsey
And so when Dwight's like, You're not even. She's not that tough. I'll show you. She's like, what is wrong with Dwight, Mom?
Jenna Fischer
He's so literal.
Angela Kinsey
He is. He is childlike himself.
Jenna Fischer
It's true. It's true. And then after that, Meredith's son comes over to Dwight's desk and starts touching all his bobbleheads.
Angela Kinsey
Hold up. Where's the Dwight bobblehead?
Jenna Fischer
Well, Melinda Magercuth would like to know that as well. 7 minutes, 1 second. Where is Angela's gift to Dwight?
Angela Kinsey
Thank you, Melinda. I am hoping, Melinda, that Dwight saw all those children there and feared for its safety and with loving care, locked it in his drawer. He has one drawer that locks. It's on the left side of his desk. And I hope it's locked there for safety.
Jenna Fischer
You know what? Let's say that that's where it is. During this scene, Meredith's son refers to Meredith as Meredith.
Angela Kinsey
And Dwight is Mr. Poop.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah, he's being a jerk.
Angela Kinsey
He's being a jerk. And Jim and Abby laugh.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, they think it's so funny.
Angela Kinsey
They're, like. Now they're, like, totally in cahoots. I loved when Sasha goes up to Phyllis and says, are you Mother Goose?
Jenna Fischer
Yes. We were also tickled by that when we read it at the table. Read. I remember I laughed so hard at that observation. If anyone should ever be cast as Mother Goose, it is Phyllis.
Angela Kinsey
And Phyllis's reaction, though, is so brilliant. And so Isabel and I were watching it together, so we. We went and we wanted to see what a picture of Mother Goose looked like.
Jenna Fischer
Does it look like Phyllis?
Angela Kinsey
It looks like Phyllis.
Jenna Fischer
100%. 100%. You're showing me a drawing of Mother Goose, and it looks like Phyllis, and.
Angela Kinsey
She'S even, like, wearing purple. You know what I mean?
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
I don't know. Phyllis was wearing purple in the scene this whole episode. And I wondered if they sort of looked at.
Jenna Fischer
She was always in purple.
Angela Kinsey
She was in purple a lot.
Jenna Fischer
If you went to Phyllis's house and looked in her closet, it would just.
Angela Kinsey
Be purple outfits and lots of, like, beaded jewelry.
Jenna Fischer
Yes. She always had a lot.
Angela Kinsey
Always some beaded necklace. Beaded necklace. Okay.
Jenna Fischer
It's so true. And I just realized.
Angela Kinsey
What?
Jenna Fischer
You kind of took your daughter to work.
Angela Kinsey
I. Oh, because she watched it.
Jenna Fischer
She watched it with you.
Angela Kinsey
Yes, I guess I did.
Jenna Fischer
You took your daughter to work for take your daughter to work day for office ladies?
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, I did.
Jenna Fischer
That's kind of sweet.
Angela Kinsey
That's so funny. All right, seven minutes, 53 seconds. We're back. In the kitchen, and Melissa and Ryan are talking, and Melissa's like. So I thought it was really funny in sort of the way they wrote her 8th grade brain to try to impress Ryan is that she just drinks coffee all day.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
The ice matcha lot of whatever's all day.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah. She can't get enough of them.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. Ryan, you're such a dork. You haven't been to Jitters. Oh, my God. Give me your phone number. He's like, yeah.
Jenna Fischer
Speaking of jitters at Steamtown Mall. So Steamtown Mall is a real place.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, we've been there.
Jenna Fischer
The center of the city of Scranton.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
I could not find a Jitters today or in the past. I spent a good 40 minutes looking for it.
Angela Kinsey
Well, that's 40 minutes of your life you're not never getting back.
Jenna Fischer
I'm never getting back. But, guys, if there is or ever was a Jitters, will you let me know?
Angela Kinsey
Because Jenna needs that 40 minutes back.
Jenna Fischer
I just need. You need to validate.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, validate that 40 minutes.
Jenna Fischer
Well, during this whole conversation about Jitters in the kitchen, Kelly.
Angela Kinsey
Kelly is vicious. Kelly is the type of gal that if you step on her, like, territory, like her man space in any way, she's going to burn you to the ground.
Jenna Fischer
And she does.
Angela Kinsey
She decimates Ryan.
Jenna Fischer
She goes and tattles immediately to Stanley.
Angela Kinsey
She points. She was like, I have something fishy going on over there.
Jenna Fischer
I don't know. They're tattooing.
Angela Kinsey
I've been watching them all day.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
And Stanley is pissed.
Jenna Fischer
Okay. This leads us to the scene that we got more mail than any other scene in this episode.
Angela Kinsey
Okay.
Jenna Fischer
The scene when Stanley confronts Ryan in the break room. This was called out as many people's favorite fan question from Chris Johnson. How many takes did it take to get the Stanley Ryan scene?
Angela Kinsey
I tried to text Leslie. We need to get Leslie in here.
Jenna Fischer
We do.
Angela Kinsey
I tried to reach out to him. Hopefully we'll hear about.
Jenna Fischer
He's traveling right now.
Angela Kinsey
He's traveling. Okay. So I know from the bloopers. Because there are great bloopers on YouTube of this.
Jenna Fischer
Yes.
Angela Kinsey
That he completely made BJ lose it.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, yeah. Season two bloopers at the three minute mark. I watched it as well.
Angela Kinsey
Okay. Stanley is letting Ryan have it. Leslie improvised a ton. That whole thing, like, Jesus isn't gonna help you. None of them are gonna help you. He was fantastic in that scene. And now we're going back to the conference room, and Dwight is playing the recorder for the kids, and he's got this on the table. He's got corn husk and plates and cups of ribbons and things.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
There's going to be some kind of crafting project.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah. I had a fan question from Laura.
Angela Kinsey
Okay.
Jenna Fischer
Rain's recorder playing is top notch. Did he really play the recorder or was it added in later?
Angela Kinsey
No, he really played that.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah, he played the bassoon in high school.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
He plays the recorder again in the bird funeral.
Angela Kinsey
Yes.
Jenna Fischer
When Pam sings along. So Rain is recorder proficient.
Angela Kinsey
He is a recorder player.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah, he is now. He's also reading a book.
Angela Kinsey
Wait, wait, before we get to that. Oh, hold up. This is big. This is one of my biggest cards of this episode. What is. He might not be saying much. This is a big card for me. He finishes playing the song and he goes, that was green sleeves. It's an English ballad written about the beheading of Anne Boleyn.
Jenna Fischer
Okay.
Angela Kinsey
So, you know, I did a term paper on Anne Boleyn in college. I love Anne Boleyn. No, in high school. Oh, yes, in high school. Senior term paper. But I looked up Greensleeves. Okay. This was fascinating to me. Sorry about to geek out on you guys a little bit. There is a persistent belief that Greensleeves was composed by Henry VIII for his lover, Anne Boleyn. Here's what really threw me for a loop. Ready?
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
There's this other interpretation of the lyrics. Ready?
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
Lady Greensleeves was a promiscuous young woman, even perhaps a prostitute.
Jenna Fischer
Okay.
Angela Kinsey
At the time, the word green had sexual connotations, most notably in the phrase a green gown, a reference to the grass stains on a woman's dress from engaging in sexual intercourse in a field somewhere.
Jenna Fischer
Green is kind of whorish.
Angela Kinsey
Green is kind of whorish. This justifies that whole line for Angela Martin. I freaked out. I was in my. That's what she shed. And I'm like, green is whorish. I'm sure my neighbors were like, what is happening? Lady Green was like a dirty color.
Jenna Fischer
Great find, Angela.
Angela Kinsey
Thank you.
Jenna Fischer
That is some deep diving historian type work on the Internet to prove a reference line from the office. Well done.
Angela Kinsey
Thank you.
Jenna Fischer
I give you this.
Angela Kinsey
Thank you.
Jenna Fischer
I want to give you that.
Angela Kinsey
I take that. I take that.
Jenna Fischer
All right. So also in this scene, he is reading a book called Struwelpeter. We had a fan question from Tyler O'Donnell. Was the story that Dwight reads the kids a real folk tale, or was it something the writers made up? Gang, it's real. It's real. Loosely translated, it means shaggy. Peter. It was a German.
Angela Kinsey
Dirty, shaggy. Don't wave your shaggy Peter at me. It sounds inappropriate.
Jenna Fischer
It does.
Angela Kinsey
Okay, so it's a story about shaggy people.
Jenna Fischer
I went out last night and this guy had such a shaggy Peter.
Angela Kinsey
Jenna, we're gonna get the E. All right.
Jenna Fischer
Okay, so it is a German book.
Angela Kinsey
Okay.
Jenna Fischer
Cautionary tales for children.
Angela Kinsey
All right.
Jenna Fischer
Okay. Written by heinrich Hoffman in 1845. Now, I found this fascinating. Heinrich Hoffman wanted to get a Christmas present for his three year old son.
Angela Kinsey
Okay.
Jenna Fischer
And he could not find a good children's book.
Angela Kinsey
I'm sorry, Heinrich.
Jenna Fischer
So he wrote his own. He wrote it himself.
Angela Kinsey
About shaggy Peter?
Jenna Fischer
Yes. He wrote Strewelpeter Strue Elpeter. And it was so sort of popular, I guess, among people that Heinrich knew that it was eventually published.
Angela Kinsey
Let's cut off their thumbs.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah, exactly.
Angela Kinsey
It's in the story.
Jenna Fischer
Here's a super crazy fact.
Angela Kinsey
What?
Jenna Fischer
In 1891, Mark Twain wrote a translation of this book that he called Slovenly Peter.
Angela Kinsey
Slovenly Peter, Yes.
Jenna Fischer
Which was published, but not until 1935, 25 years after Mark Twain died.
Angela Kinsey
And you and I are going to write our version called Shaggy pete.
Jenna Fischer
There are 10 stories in this book. So in addition to the thumb sucking story that Dwight reads the kids, which is true. And in the book, there is also a story about a little girl who plays with matches, accidentally lights herself on fire and dies. Then there's the story of a boy who doesn't want to eat his soup for dinner. He holds out for five days and then starves to death and dies.
Angela Kinsey
Do all the kids die or get maimed?
Jenna Fischer
No, no, not all of them. Some of them live through their rebellions.
Angela Kinsey
But are forever, like, sort of maimed.
Jenna Fischer
Or maimed or sort of just, you.
Angela Kinsey
Know, not the same emotionally, kind of.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
Well, that's fun. Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
So that's. That's the book. It's real.
Angela Kinsey
Well, we really get a window into Dwight and Angela's childhoods in this episode.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, yeah.
Angela Kinsey
I mean, Dwight grew up reading these stories with his grandmother.
Jenna Fischer
Yes.
Angela Kinsey
And then Angela is like, listen, my father was a strict disciplinarian, so you better whip these kids into shape.
Jenna Fischer
That's right.
Angela Kinsey
They are. They are a perfect match. I say it over and over. They really are.
Jenna Fischer
They really are. At 9 minutes, 47 seconds, we do pan to the table where Dwight has laid out supplies to make corn husk dolls. No one ever makes them, but there is. Supplies are there. We had a fan question from Lauren Paige, who actually made the Cornhuse dolls that Dwight plans to make with the kids. Was it Phil Shea?
Angela Kinsey
I would say Phil Shea.
Jenna Fischer
It was, Lauren.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
Phil Shea was responsible for all of those items on the table.
Angela Kinsey
Phil Shea is a jack of many trades. Like, he really had to do a lot.
Jenna Fischer
He does.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
I just love it that now our questions come in with, like, specifics.
Angela Kinsey
They know. Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
Am I spotting a Phil Shea moment? Yes, Lauren, you're spotting a Phil Shea moment. I think we should take a little break.
Angela Kinsey
Okay.
Jenna Fischer
Because Michael is about to give the kids a tour of the office, and I think that deserves its own space.
Angela Kinsey
Right? It's really sweet.
Jenna Fischer
It's sweet.
Angela Kinsey
Let's take a break.
Jenna Fischer
Take a break.
Angela Kinsey
Hear me out, Jenna. Let's say you just realized your business needed to hire someone. But, like yesterday, how can you find an amazing candidate but really fast?
Jenna Fischer
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Angela Kinsey
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Jenna Fischer
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Angela Kinsey
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Jenna Fischer
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Angela Kinsey
Just go to indeed.comofficeladies right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast.
Jenna Fischer
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Angela Kinsey
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Jenna Fischer
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Angela Kinsey
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Jenna Fischer
Angela, you've been using Simplisafe for a long time and you just told me you're making some Adjustments. You're adding cameras?
Angela Kinsey
Well, I am, because, listen, we have this one sort of, like, side of the house area that you can't see anything around that way. And a lot of our shrubbery has grown in, which is nice. But I was like, josh, I'd like to also know what's happening around there.
Jenna Fischer
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Angela Kinsey
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Jenna Fischer
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Angela Kinsey
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Jenna Fischer
That's simplisafe.com officeladies. There's no safe like Simplisafe. All right, we're back. We got some food. There's a bagel bar. Angela's eating an everything bagel with as.
Angela Kinsey
Much butter as I could put on it. Don't judge me.
Jenna Fischer
What?
Angela Kinsey
Don't judge me. Okay.
Jenna Fischer
We won't judge you because we can't understand you.
Angela Kinsey
I love butter.
Jenna Fischer
Okay, Angela, before we get started, I want to take a moment because I feel like there's something I have to say to you.
Angela Kinsey
It's just like a do I need a glass of wine Moment. Like, is it that big of a moment or my. Okay, my bagel and butter.
Jenna Fischer
You're fine with your bagel and butter? Okay, I feel like it's something that I need to say. I'm saying it reluctantly, yet with enthusiasm.
Angela Kinsey
Is it about my hair today?
Jenna Fischer
Nope.
Angela Kinsey
Okay.
Jenna Fischer
It's not about your hair. All right, I'm going to say it. I'm going to say it. But once I say it, it's been said. I love Game of Thrones.
Angela Kinsey
Yes. Yes. I told you you would. I told you you would. Where are you? What's happened?
Jenna Fischer
End of season one.
Angela Kinsey
Spoilers.
Jenna Fischer
End of season one.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, Khaleesi out of the fire. I mean, Angela with her dragons.
Jenna Fischer
When Khaleesi rises out of the fire.
Angela Kinsey
I am Khaleesi, first of my name, Mother of dragons.
Jenna Fischer
She's got three baby dragons on her.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
I was like. I was. I was like, oh, my God. I am Khaleesi with three baby dragons, and my dragons are just gonna get bigger. I was like, I'm a Woman coming into her own. I'm with you, Khaleesi. Everyone out there who was really. I got a lot of mail and support from people out there who were like, jenna, you do not need to watch Game of Thrones. You do not need to. We, like, we were in it together. I feel like I'm letting some folks down.
Angela Kinsey
You told me it was a soap opera, a fantasy soap opera.
Jenna Fischer
Well, it is a fantasy soap opera a little bit. I do stand by that.
Angela Kinsey
But it's standing in that.
Jenna Fischer
Well, you know what? I'm just gonna say that I was wrong about it, but I do. I'm gonna stand by the Star Wars.
Angela Kinsey
Okay. Okay. You know what? I'll take it. I'll take it. I got one. I got one. I got got with you. Yeah, I'm good.
Jenna Fischer
I'm in it. I'm in it to win it on got. Okay. Michael takes the kids over to Creed and he says, this is Creed. He's in charge of something.
Angela Kinsey
Right?
Jenna Fischer
And Creed says that is correct.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. Because Creed doesn't delivery. Creed doesn't know what he's in charge of.
Jenna Fischer
Creed doesn't know either. No one knows.
Angela Kinsey
And then. And then, of course, Creed is like the showstopper crowd pleaser when he's like, you want to see a foot with four toes?
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
And they're so excited. And Creed is giddy. Creed can't wait to show him.
Jenna Fischer
Finally, someone wants to see his four toes. I know, but he says, don't worry. Like, the hair covers up most of it.
Angela Kinsey
I know. What is. He has hobbit feet?
Jenna Fischer
I guess so.
Angela Kinsey
Hobbit, Jenna. Lord of the Rings.
Jenna Fischer
I'm sorry, I'm not gonna go there. I know. I'm not gonna. That I will. I mean, I might watch a Star wars one day, but you are not getting me into the Lord of the Rings. That is where I draw the line.
Angela Kinsey
Okay, fine.
Jenna Fischer
All right, so we go into the conference room and all the kids are in there and they're eating candy. And this is when Michael tells them that he used to be the star.
Angela Kinsey
I know.
Jenna Fischer
He calls himself the star of a TV show called Fundle Bundle.
Angela Kinsey
Here's my question for you. Because as I watched this, I kept thinking about. This is just Michael's memory of this, just through rose colored glasses. He doesn't really remember what it was like. He's recreated sort of he's rewritten history, if you will. Right?
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
That he was the star and it was a great thing.
Jenna Fischer
Yes. I mean, I think that's pretty common. I'M thinking of the time, for example, that I got to be on the radio reading a poem about the St. Louis Cardinals during the World Series.
Angela Kinsey
How old were you?
Jenna Fischer
Oh, I was probably last year. No, I was like 10. I was 10. Yeah. Because it was the 84 World Series, I believe. So I was 10. Okay. And my memory of it is that I was a radio star, but I'm sure if I heard the audio, it's me. Like, roses are red, violets are blue. I love the Cardinals and so do you. Right. Like, I was probably not the poetry.
Angela Kinsey
Reader you are now.
Jenna Fischer
Yes. And he knows what this poem really was. But in my mind, it was such a fabulous poem. It got live on the radio and we all listened, you know, So I think that's what's happened in Michael's brain.
Angela Kinsey
He has this childlike nostalgia of what. What that was.
Jenna Fischer
And fun little bundle, if it was anything like the land of Hatchie. Malachi was a big deal in Scranton.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
And so. And Michael was on it. This is a little bit of a claim to fame.
Angela Kinsey
Right.
Jenna Fischer
So he decides we're going to watch it. He tells Ryan, go get the tape. Go get the tape from my mom's house. And then he goes into this very elaborate explanation.
Angela Kinsey
Go to Dixon City, which I looked up. It's about a 14 minute drive. Go to Dixon City. Mom might be by the pool.
Jenna Fischer
She might be at the pool.
Angela Kinsey
At the pool.
Jenna Fischer
And so you're gonna have to go.
Angela Kinsey
Through the window, boost yourself up, and go to the basement.
Jenna Fischer
Yes. I play this clip. It's at 12 minutes. I just love. Steve delivers it very, very quickly. He just rattles it off as if everything he's saying is totally normal.
Angela Kinsey
And also, this is something he's done countless times.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah, it's so easy to do. This is how you get in my mom's house.
Angela Kinsey
She's gonna be at the pool.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah. So you just.
Angela Kinsey
You put your stickers.
Jenna Fischer
The window will be open, though.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
Here it is. I would like you to go to my mother's house in Dixon City. And if she's at the pool, the back kitchen window should be unlocked. I want you to boost yourself up. I want you to go down to the basement. In the basement is a tape labeled Fundle Bundle. I want you to grab it. I want you to get my guitar. Right.
Angela Kinsey
Okay.
Jenna Fischer
I want you to get a tambourine. Do you know how to play the tambourine?
Angela Kinsey
I'm already in the pizzas from Brunetti.
Jenna Fischer
So, you know, I can go with him. No, I Will go. Okay. I love that. I love it. Oh, get my guitar, which is in his mother's basement.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
And then can you play the tambourine?
Angela Kinsey
It's. It's. He's. It's all about to happen.
Jenna Fischer
It's all about to happen. So at 12 minutes, 17 seconds, Ryan says he can't go because I'm already getting pizza from Brunetti's. Brunetti's is a real pizza place in Scranton.
Angela Kinsey
No jitters. But there is a Brunetti's.
Jenna Fischer
There is a Brunetti's. But, guys, guess what? I went to the Facebook page for Brunetti's.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
Their pizza is a rectangle. What? Rectangle pizza. Brunetti's.
Angela Kinsey
Scandalous.
Jenna Fischer
Not circular pizza.
Angela Kinsey
Like Baronies here.
Jenna Fischer
Baronis in Los Angeles, Steve's favorite pizza.
Angela Kinsey
Where we would get pizza sometimes on.
Jenna Fischer
Set for the cast and crew. Square rectangle.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, rectangle.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah, it's made on, like, a cookie sheet. Well, in our episode, we have circular pizzas. To be fair, I did see they tend to sometimes serve circular ones.
Angela Kinsey
Well, you heard it here, you guys.
Jenna Fischer
You heard it here.
Angela Kinsey
Sorry for the circular pizza when it wasn't Brunetti's rectangle pizza.
Jenna Fischer
All right, guys, everybody is in the conference room now. At 12 minutes, 29 seconds, they're eating the circular pizza. That should be a rectangle. Fan catch from Mrs. Cray.
Angela Kinsey
What?
Jenna Fischer
Mrs. Cray, what is the funny dance move that John Krasinski is doing in the background? I don't know.
Angela Kinsey
They're just goofing around with the kids.
Jenna Fischer
John being John.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, he's just playing John. Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
If you want to know what John is like, check out 12 minutes, 29 seconds.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, he's just having fun.
Jenna Fischer
He is. Are we ready to play this tape from fundle bundle?
Angela Kinsey
12 minutes, 51 seconds. The fun Bundle tape has arrived.
Jenna Fischer
We had a lot of fan questions about the Funle Bundle video and how it was made. So I reached out to Kent Zabornak, our line producer. So he told me that our set designers built the set and that our wardrobe designer, Carrie Bennett, found all of these vintage 1960 outfits for the kids.
Angela Kinsey
She was great at that. So good and probably so excited because all we wore were gray turtlenecks and, like, beige tops. And so she was probably so thrilled to have a project.
Jenna Fischer
Here's an interesting bit of trivia about Carrie Bennett. So before our show, Carrie worked on Scrubs, and she designed some kind of, like, I guess, quote unquote designer scrubs.
Angela Kinsey
Well, she could sew, and so she designed her own line of scrubs that.
Jenna Fischer
Were less boxy, that were more flattering, and fitted for both men. Men and women.
Angela Kinsey
Right.
Jenna Fischer
Different colors and patterns. They were so popular that she actually started a line of scrubs. Yeah, yeah.
Angela Kinsey
Go, Carrie.
Jenna Fischer
So there you go. So when they shot this footage, they used a cheap video camera instead of one of our regular cameras. And then in post production, he told me they threw in some additional artifacts. I guess artifacts is a term for lessening the quality of the film image. And so that's how it got that degraded, grainy look. Yes.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
We had another fan question from Karen Fryer. She said, who was the voice of Edward R. Meow, the puppet that all the kids are talking to in Fundle Bundle? The voice is Kevin Carlson. He is a puppeteer and voice actor. But here's something very sweet.
Angela Kinsey
What?
Jenna Fischer
I did not know this. Kent Zabornik, our line producer, used to be a puppeteer.
Angela Kinsey
Stop it.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah, he worked with Jim Henson. Kent Kent Zaborniak worked with Jim Henson and Sid and Mary Croft. And he wanted to be Edward R. Meow.
Angela Kinsey
And they didn't let him.
Jenna Fischer
No, he couldn't do it. In the end. He didn't have the time. He couldn't leave his job of line producing to be Edward Armyow. So he asked his friend, another professional puppeteer, Kevin Carlson, if he would do it.
Angela Kinsey
This is that classic thing that I love where you look at someone, you think you know them. You're like, I know you. You're very efficient. Kent's kind of like this high strung, but, like, nice and kind. But he's getting stuff done.
Jenna Fischer
He's got Excel spreadsheets.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. And I'm like, kent, I know who you are. And then you're a freaking puppeteer.
Jenna Fischer
Puppeteer.
Angela Kinsey
What?
Jenna Fischer
Yeah. I did not know that. Blew me away when he told me that.
Angela Kinsey
I love that. Yeah, I love it.
Jenna Fischer
But here's something.
Angela Kinsey
What?
Jenna Fischer
The little blonde kid that gets interviewed by Edward R. Meow.
Angela Kinsey
The first kid.
Jenna Fischer
The first kid. Yeah. That's Kent Sbornak's son.
Angela Kinsey
Aw, Alec, that's so cute.
Jenna Fischer
He had to audition for the role.
Angela Kinsey
And he got it. He got it.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah, he had to audition. Isn't that cute?
Angela Kinsey
That is so cute.
Jenna Fischer
Should we talk about Chet Montgomery?
Angela Kinsey
We should. Chet, he's like a local, like, celebrity.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
So my hometown is pretty small, you know, in North Texas. And the evening news there is Good evening, Texoma, because we're right by the Texas Oklahoma border.
Jenna Fischer
Okay.
Angela Kinsey
And the folks that do the news there, the local anchors, I Have been in Wichita Falls with, like, my grandmother or mom or, like, at the mall or going to Looby's. They love Luby's.
Jenna Fischer
What's Looby's?
Angela Kinsey
Luby's is like.
Jenna Fischer
Do they sell earrings?
Angela Kinsey
No, it's like, it's. My grandparents love to go there for lunch. You get a tray. Oh, it's an eatery.
Jenna Fischer
You eat there's.
Angela Kinsey
You get a train. You go all the way down. It's like a buffet.
Jenna Fischer
Like a cafeteria style buffet thing.
Angela Kinsey
Yes.
Jenna Fischer
I'd love that place.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, yeah.
Jenna Fischer
Like a soup plantation kind of.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. Luby's. It was called Looby's. It's in the mall. But I remember going there with my grandparents and we saw the local news guy and they were like, there he is. Oh, my God. That's the. He does the evening news. Oh, my God. We're so excited.
Jenna Fischer
This kid who's being interviewed, he's Chet Montgomery. We find out he's the weather guy. Yeah, right. He's played by Damani Roberts. Here is a crazy thing about Damani Roberts. What? Remember earlier in the Talking head when Michael says, I'm Eddie Murphy and raw, but they're going to make me be Eddie Murphy in Daddy Daycare.
Angela Kinsey
Is Damani in Daddy Daycare?
Jenna Fischer
Yes.
Angela Kinsey
Stop it. Yes. That's amazing.
Jenna Fischer
Damani Roberts is also in Daddy Daycare. Fan question from GraceMarvel5005 and Chris Wolpert, who played Michael as a kid. This was an actor named Jake Callender.
Angela Kinsey
Jake Callender.
Jenna Fischer
Jake Callender. He sounds like Chet Montgomery.
Angela Kinsey
He does. Jake Callender with Evening News and Texoma.
Jenna Fischer
So when young Michael is interviewed, didn't.
Angela Kinsey
You think young Michael looked like young Sheldon? A little bit.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, yeah. I can give you that.
Angela Kinsey
Right?
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
Looks a little bit.
Angela Kinsey
A little bit. Okay. So he's interviewed.
Jenna Fischer
He's interviewed and he's asked what he wants to be when he grows up.
Angela Kinsey
We should also remind you guys, he's in a full suit and tie. Yeah. He's a little kid.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah. And he says, I want to be married and have 100 kids so I can have 100 friends. And no one can say no to being my friend.
Angela Kinsey
Is this when you cried?
Jenna Fischer
This is when I had to turn off the episode. It hit me so hard. I don't know why. This idea of just this little kid longing for friends and longing for acceptance.
Angela Kinsey
But we're getting a real window into his life. Listen, it was just.
Jenna Fischer
It was almost too much for me. It was almost too much for Me, this sentence about Michael's past, it was just. And I think. Because then you go to Steve's reaction, and Steve's acting is so good in that moment. It just like. I don't know. I mean, I remember at the time when we shot that, that after the little. Michael says that it cuts to a shot of the puppet who. And the puppet can't speak, and we lost it.
Angela Kinsey
The puppet is like agape, Right. His mouth is open. Do you know that the puppet. They linger on the puppet with its mouth open in silence. Like, what the heck? Right?
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
They linger on that puppet for six seconds of silence. I mean, seeing a puppet with its mouth agape being like, what the f. Just is going on. It is funny. It is funny.
Jenna Fischer
And when we were shooting this six seconds, we were dying. We were dying at the shot of the puppet. And so when I was getting ready, I think, to sit down and watch this scene, all I could remember was how we were crying, laughing at this reaction shot of the puppet. But then I just saw this whole other side of how not funny that was. Well, we were looking at it and.
Angela Kinsey
How you had the puppet. We weren't looking at Steve at that moment. Yeah. So we missed that moment for Michael.
Jenna Fischer
We needed to watch it as an episode. Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
So as an audience. Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah. I just was. Anyway.
Angela Kinsey
Well, the kids start peppering Michael with questions, right? Yeah. They're saying, well, did you get married? Do you have kids? Do you have a girlfriend? And then the little girl says, I guess you didn't get to be what you wanted to be. And it is soul crushing. And I was watching this with Isabel, who's 11, and she turned to me and she goes, mom, were there just times when you were doing this show that you were like, I am so uncomfortable. She was like, this is really uncomfortable. I mean, she thought it was funny, you know, but she was like, that is awkward. And I was like, yeah. Oh, yeah. There are a lot of cringy moments on this show which make it all work and balance. But just the fact that she picked up on that, at her age, of, like, what an awkward moment this was.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, man. Well, Michael is so gutted, he just.
Angela Kinsey
He locks himself in his office.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
He won't come out.
Jenna Fischer
And the reaction shots of all of us are great. We're all really sad for him.
Angela Kinsey
Sad. A little embarrassed.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah, all of it. So Pam's talking to Jim. We got a lot of mail about this little scene. Pam's talking to Jim. She's saying, Michael won't come out of his office. He won't answer his phone. Over her shoulder, Roy is wrestling with Meredith's son.
Angela Kinsey
He's so happy. Roy. Roy and the jerk kid are having the best time.
Jenna Fischer
We had a lot of questions about what this scene was supposed to mean, because Pam seems a little bit embarrassed or ashamed that Roy and this kid are getting along. They're like, what did this mean? Well, I think. I don't know. What was your interpretation?
Angela Kinsey
Here was my take on it.
Jenna Fischer
Okay.
Angela Kinsey
Because you have Roy, this big guy. Right. And he's kind of fratty. He's kind of like a frat guy. And he is with the kid that's the asshole.
Jenna Fischer
Right.
Angela Kinsey
And they're having the time of their lives. They're in there. There's other people around them. They're not even caring about other people's personal space. They're wrestling in this room. And Roy's, like. Got him in a headlock, and he's like, I love this kid. And I think Pam had a flash of what her life would be like with Roy with children, what their kids would be like.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
She is going to have a kid that's like, mom, pull my finger. Fart, dad, laugh.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
And Pam was like, oh, God. Oh, no. I'm gonna be outnumbered in my own house by, like, the Roy kids.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah. I think it's definitely there to show a contrast to the way Jim Bonds with a kid.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
Over books and reading, as opposed to just roughhousing.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
But I have to say, when I saw that, I thought, yes, that's what this kid needs, actually. He needs a father figure in his life. He needs someone to wrestle with him, because that is an important part of parenting. I didn't think that that was so bad of a thing.
Angela Kinsey
No, I think it's perfect for Roy. The problem is that's not what Pam wants in a dad. Pam wants more of a gym dad that is going to do a silly dance and talk about books and probably wrestle a little bit, too. But I think Roy is just a little brutish. It's absolutely what Meredith's son needs. I mean, he needs a big guy to, like, grab him and be like, hey, yeah, you know, pay attention. But I just think it's just that moment that shows that Jim and Pam are just, you know, you meet people. We all, like, dated people. And there's some people you know instinctively that you're going to parent the same with.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
And I think Pam and Jim are going to parent the same.
Jenna Fischer
Yes. Yeah. I think that's good. That's good. That's good analysis. I like that. Well, next up, we go to the copier with Dwight, and we're going to see how Dwight might parent Jake.
Angela Kinsey
Well, again, Dwight and Angela. Angela has told him he needs to be tougher with the kids. Basically. That's her subtext, because that's what she would expect. Right? That's what she had growing up. And she expects him to be that way.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
So she's egging him on. She's glaring at him, like, shut that kid up.
Jenna Fischer
Jake tells Dwight that he's ugly.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
And then Dwight is horrible. I'm sorry.
Angela Kinsey
At my prodding.
Jenna Fischer
At my prodding.
Angela Kinsey
He's horrible.
Jenna Fischer
Get my mini soapbox out again, because I did not care for this.
Angela Kinsey
No, it wasn't good.
Jenna Fischer
It bumped me. I didn't like that Dwight told a child like that. Dwight insulted a child the way he did. I didn't. I think we're meant as an audience to be like, yeah, you give it to the jerk kid. But I just. That, ugh, I didn't like it.
Angela Kinsey
I don't think we're meant to do that.
Jenna Fischer
You don't think?
Angela Kinsey
I don't think so. I think, like, there's part of you that's, like, glad that this kid is, like, at least put in his place a little bit. Although done completely inappropriately. But I think what I took away from it is, like, Dwight. Dwight is a kid. These are two kids in one conversation. I mean, Isabel watched it with me, and she was like, oh, mom, Dwight. And I said, I know he's just a kid.
Jenna Fischer
Well, it all just made me super sad for Jake.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, well, Jake. Jake is doomed.
Jenna Fischer
That's what I felt like.
Angela Kinsey
He's Meredith's kid and he's doomed. At 15 minutes, 39 seconds, Pam strikes out again.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, boy.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. Melissa comes over. She's like, you know, I've spent some time with your mom. She's so nice. And Melissa's like, that lady is not my mother. Like, you mean Terri? That's my stepmom.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
So now she's like 0 for 2, right?
Jenna Fischer
Oh, yeah.
Angela Kinsey
Pam's not doing great until Jake comes over. Jake. Jake's probably a little wounded by this time. I think he's a little softer around the edges now.
Jenna Fischer
Maybe so.
Angela Kinsey
And she's like, do you want to shred some stuff? Your shredder?
Jenna Fischer
My shredder? 15 minutes, 50 seconds, everyone.
Angela Kinsey
Your shredder that you said we never use. And people were like, oh, I'm getting to my keyboard.
Jenna Fischer
Yes. Boy, we got A lot of mail after I said that early on. Yes, Pam does use her shredder with Jake, by the way. I want to say that original shredder did not work. It was inoperable. And I can't remember now if they had to bring in some other shredder. I think there's a reason why there's not a great shot of it is because it doesn't technically match the giant shredder that's always been there.
Angela Kinsey
I will say, also, in our early years on set, I know we were on a tight budget, Right. We were the show that was almost going to get canceled. We were like. It was sort of shoestring budget. And a lot of our appliances in the office, if you look really closely, are old, used appliances.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
That they would take from, like, a prop warehouse or other shows.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, the copier didn't work at first. And then they wrote that someone uses the copier, and they're like, whoa, hold up.
Angela Kinsey
It doesn't work.
Jenna Fischer
We need a copier. We were just. I mean, that was just decoration. We're planning on using that.
Angela Kinsey
And that shredder looked like something from the Dharma Initiative. It looked really old.
Jenna Fischer
Well, you remember that copier used to often not work. Right. Do you remember that? We were always fixing that copier all the time. But then when I worked in offices, we were always fixing our copiers. So maybe it worked just as it was meant to work.
Angela Kinsey
I don't know.
Jenna Fischer
Or as good as any copier I've ever used. All right, all right. So now Toby goes into Michael's office, and he's returning the toys that Sasha took. And Toby asks Michael if he's okay. And Michael says, well, you have to ask me that because you're head of hr. And Toby's like, well, it's true, but how are you?
Angela Kinsey
And then they end up having a.
Jenna Fischer
Heart to heart, a sweet heart to heart.
Angela Kinsey
Michael and Toby.
Jenna Fischer
I know. But of course, then Michael asks if Sasha has a godfather, and Toby's like, she does.
Angela Kinsey
Toby actually cuts him off. So he's like, hey, does Sasha have a godfather? Because he does. He does.
Jenna Fischer
She does.
Angela Kinsey
She does.
Jenna Fischer
Right?
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
But Michael decides he's gotten his feeling a little better. He's gonna sign up for an online dating service.
Angela Kinsey
He's gonna get out there.
Jenna Fischer
He is. He's gonna try to make little Michael Scott's dream come true, get married and have his 100 kids.
Angela Kinsey
And he wants the ladies out there to know how serious he is about having a family and his love of children. So he makes his username Little kid lover.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah, he's gonna do it. Oh, boy. All right, so now, huge bombshell. Abby is leaving with Kevin, and she wants to invite Jim over for dinner. Very sweet.
Angela Kinsey
He can't. He has plans.
Jenna Fischer
He has plans. What plans? Kevin says you never have plans. Guess what, guys?
Angela Kinsey
Jim has a date. Jim has a date with who is this? Maybe Brenda. Is Brenda back?
Jenna Fischer
Fan question. Laura Deenie would like to know who is Jim going on a date with?
Angela Kinsey
Don't know, Brenda.
Jenna Fischer
Is he lying? No, he. He has a date.
Angela Kinsey
No, he has a date.
Jenna Fischer
I think he does.
Angela Kinsey
No, he for sure has a date.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah. So then we get to the last scene of the episode. This is the second time I cried in this episode when they were singing. Yeah, Jenna, Dwight is playing guitar.
Angela Kinsey
First one. Why did you cry in this one? I don't know.
Jenna Fischer
This song really gets to me. Teach your children. Michael is singing Crosby, Stills, and Nash.
Angela Kinsey
And Young, I guess.
Jenna Fischer
I love how. I love how Steve does this.
Angela Kinsey
He went for it.
Jenna Fischer
He went for it. His very weird harmony falsetto. Yeah, yeah. And during this scene, Jim and Pam have a little banter. Little banter.
Angela Kinsey
This was a real kick in the nuts for Pam. This was a tough one.
Jenna Fischer
Jim says, why does he have a guitar if he never plays it?
Angela Kinsey
They're doing their thing where they kind of flirt and chitchat. Chat in the corner.
Jenna Fischer
Exactly. They're commenting on what's happening, but then they kind of giggle. Then Pam looks away and she turns back and she's like, well, my theory is he's gone. Jim's gone. Oh, yeah.
Angela Kinsey
And then your little adjustment after you realize you were talking to no one and that he's gone is so great because you kind of feel her like, oh, okay. So at 19 minutes, 1 second, we sort of start this montage. Right. Jim is leaving.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
And you see this really sweet thing with Michael and Sasha, like he's kind of helping, I think, get her in Toby's car. And then you end with this Dwight talking head.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah. It's so good.
Angela Kinsey
What? Okay, I have a question.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
Where's that photo from?
Jenna Fischer
I found out.
Angela Kinsey
Good. I was hoping you would.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah. So during this talking head, Dwight is kind of explaining the value of children in the shrewt ancestry. And there is this photo, this black and white photo of a family seemingly kind of impoverished family.
Angela Kinsey
Impoverished family. Well, Dwight says that they would have a lot of children so they could work the fields, which, you know, is not a real stretch because my mom grew up in rural Texas on A farm. And she had their 12 siblings. Yeah, they all worked the farm. I think that was a thing.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah, that. That was a thing.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
Life on the Prairie, Little House on the Prairie. We learned that from Little House on the Prairie.
Angela Kinsey
Not really, but the.
Jenna Fischer
That family had a lot of kids, and they all worked that field and farm.
Angela Kinsey
They had, like, four.
Jenna Fischer
I think they had more than that.
Angela Kinsey
Five.
Jenna Fischer
I feel like it was upwards of seven. What, Mara. Mara Mary Half Pint.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, the baby who I think died on Christmas Eve of fever.
Jenna Fischer
There were some boys.
Angela Kinsey
One boy, maybe.
Jenna Fischer
There were only four or five. I don't know. They all worked the farm, though. Anyway, Dwight also says that they sometimes ate the weakest person in times of real hardship. And then he was like, but not a kid.
Angela Kinsey
We didn't eat the babies.
Jenna Fischer
But the way he says it means, like, maybe sometimes they do.
Angela Kinsey
Well, no, he said, I'm kidding. We never ate the children. It never came to that.
Jenna Fischer
Right. But if it did, they were.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
All right, well, at 20 minutes, 17 seconds, there is a shot of this photo. And in the Booze Cruise podcast, we mentioned that Rain did bring in a number of photos of his real family.
Angela Kinsey
Is this one?
Jenna Fischer
No. Oh, it's not. There was a real photo of his family in the vending machine in the cold open of Booze Cruise, but this was not Rain's real family. Kent told me that they just found it on Getty Images. It's a stock photo. They just licensed it, and it became the lore of Dwight's family. Right there. Just a picture.
Angela Kinsey
There you go. It's somebody's family.
Jenna Fischer
It's someone's family.
Angela Kinsey
Maybe someone will write in and say, hey, that.
Jenna Fischer
Those are my ancestors.
Angela Kinsey
Those are my ancestors. A Getty Image photographer came to a reunion in 1814.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
Anyway.
Jenna Fischer
All right, well, there you go. That's our episode.
Angela Kinsey
All right, you guys, let's take your daughter to work day. If you have any questions, if we left anything out, write us in and we will see you next week.
Jenna Fischer
We will. I think for Michael's birthday.
Angela Kinsey
Michael's birthday?
Jenna Fischer
Yeah, the ice skateboard.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, I have good photos from that one.
Jenna Fischer
I have good stories. Thank you for listening to Office Lady's second drink.
Angela Kinsey
This episode was initially created in collaboration with Earwolf.
Jenna Fischer
Office Ladies is a presentation of Odyssey and is produced by Jenna Fisher and Angela Kinsey.
Angela Kinsey
Our executive producer is Cassie Jerkins, and our audio engineer and associate producer is Daniela Silva.
Jenna Fischer
Odyssey's executive producers are Jenna Wise Berman and Leah Reese Dennis.
Angela Kinsey
Office Ladies is mixed and mastered by Chris Basil.
Jenna Fischer
Our theme song is Rubber Tree by Creed Bratton.
Angela Kinsey
I've been counted out, dismissed, passed over. Told I'd never be a golfer with just one army. But the only thing that feels better than proving people wrong is out driving them. I'm 14 year old golfer Tommy Morrissey and I want to be remembered for.
Jenna Fischer
My ability as a champion partner of the Masters. Bank of America supports everyone Determined to find out what's possible in golf and in life. What would you like the power to do? Bank of America bank of America NA Member FDIC Copyright 2025 bank of America Corporation. All rights reserved.
Office Ladies Episode Summary: "Second Drink: Take Your Daughter to Work Day"
Release Date: April 14, 2025
In the "Second Drink" episode of the Office Ladies podcast, hosts Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey delve into Season 2, Episode 18 of The Office, titled "Take Your Daughter to Work Day." The episode offers a comprehensive breakdown of the episode's content, enriched with behind-the-scenes anecdotes, fan interactions, and detailed analyses of memorable scenes.
Jenna kicks off the episode by addressing fan inquiries about the existence of Jitters Coffee Shop mentioned in the episode. She recounts her extensive search:
Jenna Fischer [03:15]: "After this podcast aired, I had really wondered if Jitters the coffee shop was a real place. [Fan Katie N.] wrote in and confirmed that Jitters was indeed a real establishment in various locations, though not specifically in Scranton, Pennsylvania."
Angela adds her sleuthing efforts:
Angela Kinsey [01:38]: "We put on our sleuthing hats and confirmed that's a whole lot of places and a whole lot of acceptance."
This segment not only resolves Jenna's 40-minute hunt but also engages listeners with real-world connections to the show's lore.
The hosts share intriguing background catches submitted by fans, shedding light on subtle moments viewers might have missed:
Theresa W.'s Insight [04:06]: Angela and Roy's budding romance is highlighted during a scene where Roy wrestles with Meredith's son, showcasing Angela's appreciation for Roy's strength and fun-loving nature.
Basma K.'s Observation [05:25]: Toby's interactions with Michael and Creed involve subtle background actions, like Creed removing his shoes, adding depth to his quirky character.
Deleted Scenes: Jenna and Angela discuss deleted scenes reinstated in the Peacock Superfan Episode, including a conference room scene where Angela negotiates the day’s menu—an exchange filled with humor and character development.
Jenna Fischer [06:19]: "I have to just say thank you, everyone, because when I was revisiting our breakdown of this, I was reminded that I spent a very long time trying to find out if Jitters was a real place."
Fast Facts provide quick, fascinating tidbits about the episode's production:
Casting Children's Roles [12:22]:
Challenges with Children on Set [17:11]:
Fundle Bundle Inspiration [18:50]:
Recorder Proficiency [45:35]:
Jenna Fischer [14:37]: "She was the daughter of our set dresser, Sean Farrell. So when it came time to do this episode, we kind of had to use her."
1. Michael Scott’s Vulnerability
A poignant moment unfolds when Michael reveals his past as the star of Fundle Bundle, a children's show reminiscent of real programs.
Michael Scott [32:31]: "It's not that children make me uncomfortable. It's just, why be a dad when you can be a fun uncle?"
Analysis: Fans questioned this line as it seemed contradictory to Michael’s ongoing desire for a family. Jenna and Angela interpret it as Michael’s self-deprecating humor masking his deeper yearning for fatherhood.
Angela Kinsey [33:04]: "And I think in this moment he's just, like, trying to put a good spin on where his life is at for himself."
2. Roy and Meredith’s Son Interaction
Roy bonds with Meredith's son through wrestling, contrasting with Pam’s more subdued attempts to connect.
Theresa W. [04:06]: "Angela sees how strong Roy is and is pleased with him. I think she also sees how fun he can be."
Analysis: This interaction highlights Roy’s natural affinity with children, serving as a foil to Pam’s challenges in bonding, and subtly hints at their potential compatibility as parents.
3. Dwight’s Recorder Playing
Dwight introduces the children to Greensleeves, accompanied by him reading from Struwwelpeter, a German cautionary tale.
Dwight [46:10]: "That was 'Green Sleeves,' an English ballad written about the beheading of Anne Boleyn."
Analysis: Angela explores the darker interpretations of the song’s lyrics, linking them to Angela Martin’s (Angela Kinsey) character traits and adding a layer of irony to Dwight’s strict demeanor.
Angela Kinsey [46:46]: "Green is kind of whorish. I was in my... that's what she shed. And I'm like, green is whorish."
4. Emotional Climax with Michael and Sasha
Michael's interaction with Sasha culminates in a heartfelt moment where she questions his happiness.
Sasha [68:03]: "I guess you didn't get to be what you wanted to be."
Analysis: This moment strips away Michael’s usual bravado, revealing his deep-seated insecurities and unfulfilled desires, leading to an emotional resonance that even made Jenna cry.
Jenna Fischer [68:03]: "I sobbed twice during this episode."
1. Production Challenges:
Jenna shares the difficulty in locating a fictional Jitters coffee shop, exploring real locations in Scranton and beyond.
Jenna Fischer [43:31]: "I spent a good 40 minutes looking for it."
2. Set Design and Props:
Discussions about the authenticity of props, like the Uncle Sam doll and the Struwwelpeter book, enhance the show's realistic office environment.
Angela Kinsey [25:42]: "Sometimes they would strategically put a little piece of paper on the glass partition to block the glare."
3. Costume and Wardrobe:
Carrie Bennett, the wardrobe designer, sourced vintage 1960s outfits for the kids, providing a nostalgic contrast to the modern office setting.
Jenna Fischer [63:04]: "She was great at that. So good and probably so excited because all we wore were gray turtlenecks and beige tops."
Throughout the episode, Jenna and Angela integrate listener feedback and questions, fostering a sense of community and shared enthusiasm for The Office.
Angela Kinsey [30:27]: "And so all of a sudden, I'd sit down to do a scene, and I'd be like, what is that?"
Jenna Fischer [26:43]: "Fan question from Michelle Mange. Did Jenna get to decide what candy was sitting at reception? No."
These interactions not only answer fan curiosities but also enrich the discussion with diverse perspectives.
As the episode wraps up, Jenna and Angela reflect on the emotional depth of the episode, acknowledging both its comedic and heartfelt moments.
Angela Kinsey [80:05]: "They are, like. Now they're, like, totally in cahoots."
Jenna Fischer [71:18]: "So Pam's talking to Jim. We got a lot of mail about this little scene."
The hosts emphasize the enduring impact of The Office, highlighting how rewatching episodes with behind-the-scenes insights deepens appreciation for the show's nuanced storytelling and character development.
Jenna Fischer [83:48]: "Thank you for listening to Office Lady's second drink."
"Take Your Daughter to Work Day" serves as a microcosm of The Office's brilliance, blending humor with genuine emotion. Through Office Ladies, fans gain an enriched understanding of the episode's layers, both on-screen and behind the scenes, solidifying The Office's place as a beloved classic.
Feel free to reach out with more questions or insights, and join Jenna and Angela next week for another deep dive into The Office.