Loading summary
Angela Kinsey
If your child is struggling with a specific subject or maybe they just need some extra help with homework, you can set your child up for success with IXL Learning. It is an online learning program for kids. It covers math, language arts, science and social studies. IXL is designed to help them really understand and master topics in a fun way with positive feedback. It is also backed by research. Kids using IXL are scoring higher on tests studies done in almost every state in the country. The kids who had IXL are consistently doing better and this is one site for all the kids in your home Pre K to 12th grade. One subscription gets you everything. One in four students in the U.S. are learning with IXL.
Jenna Fischer
Also, IXL is used in 95 of the top 100 school districts in the.
Angela Kinsey
U.S. make an impact on your child's learning. Get IXL now and Office Ladies listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at ixcelearning.com OfficeLadies Visit ixlearning.com OfficeLadies to get the most effective learning program out there at the best price. We all want peace of mind when it comes to protecting our loved ones and protecting our home. And we now have an exclusive New Year's discount for our listeners with SimpliSafe. You can take 50% off your new SimpliSafe system when you order now. You know traditional security systems only take action after someone has already broken in, but that's too late. SimpliSafe has active guard outdoor protection that can help prevent break ins before they happen. And you know I use Simplisafe and I really liked how easy it was to install and I've been making some upgrades here and there and their customer service was fantastic. There are no long term contracts or cancellation fees and it's really affordable. You can have a monitoring plan starting at around a dollar a day with 60 days satisfaction guarantee or your money back. SimpliSafe was named best home security system by US News and World Report five years in a row. Start the year with greater peace of mind. Visit simplisafe.com officeladies to claim 50% off a new system with a professional monitoring plan and your first month free. That's simplisafe.com officeladies there's no safe like SimpliSafe. Welcome back to Second Drink the Fight. This one was my assignment. I loved this episode and I had a lot of fun digging in for some Second Drink tidbits. I found some good stuff lady.
Jenna Fischer
Well I enjoyed this breakdown as well. You know these were the early days of the podcast, and we were trying to find new things. And one thing that I loved was when we decided to pick an office fan to read the Weekly Summary. I know this week was read by Alexis, so be on the lookout for that.
Angela Kinsey
I feel like maybe we should bring that back somehow.
Jenna Fischer
I like this idea. We'll drink on it.
Angela Kinsey
We'll think on it.
Jenna Fischer
Well, another thing that I loved about this episode is that, Angela, you reconnected with Lance Krall, who plays Sensei Ira.
Angela Kinsey
I did. And that brings me to some of the fun stuff I found in this week's second drink. So, you know in the episode where we see Dwight doing the chores around the dojo. Well, in the shooting draft, it listed a bunch of little moments that could fill out a montage. There was no dialogue, just Dwight cleaning, answering phones, et cetera. I think that Rayne and Lance got to play around a little bit because there is a very funny deleted scene on the DVDs. It is not in the shooting draft. We didn't talk about it in our first rewatch, but it's in the Superfan episode. It's really funny. I think we should hear it.
Jenna Fischer
Okay.
Angela Kinsey
Excellent. All right.
Jenna Fischer
That's okay. Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Angela Kinsey
Hold on, hold on, hold on. Sorry, just one second.
Jenna Fischer
Dwight, you can't use your Patreon here. I told you. Okay, Dwight, it's a sales call. 10 push ups, 10 pushups. I can. Yes, yes. I mean, I feel like they just turned on the camera and said, guys, go for it.
Angela Kinsey
Just mess around.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah, well, Ang, Lance is such a talented guy. You know, I talked about how much I loved Lance from the Joe Schmo show, and I talk about how I auditioned for it. I did not get the role, and I was positive that this was an Alison Jones project and that's how she knew about Lance.
Angela Kinsey
I know, but we got some fan mail.
Jenna Fischer
We did.
Angela Kinsey
From guess who?
Jenna Fischer
Rhett Reese, the co Creator of Joe Schmo, who said, jenna, your memory is a touch off. Pat Melton cast Joe Schmoe for us, not Allison Jones. But thanks so much for the kind shout out, Rhett.
Angela Kinsey
Thank you for writing in.
Jenna Fischer
Yes, but, Rhett, why didn't I get a part? Oh, what didn't I do?
Angela Kinsey
Right, buddy, you're stirring the pot.
Jenna Fischer
I am.
Angela Kinsey
Well, you know, I think we should have Lance on because we never got a chance to talk to him about being in Junior Salesman in season nine.
Jenna Fischer
Well, I would love to get an insider's take on. On all those scenes of all those guys Right. Together doing their interview.
Angela Kinsey
That would be fun.
Jenna Fischer
That would be fun.
Angela Kinsey
Well, to wrap up my second drinks tidbit section here, I have a little scene in the accounting nook I wanna share. And then I have some really delicious candy bag alts. Okay, first of all, there was a great scene over in accounting. We did not discuss it. It's in the deleted scenes and it's also in the superfan episode. But it's one of those moments over in accounting that really shows the dynamic between Oscar, Angela and Kevin. I always loved doing those sc. And in this one, Angela's a little hangry. Oh, yeah. She's waiting for Michael to sign all of the expense reports and she thinks that Oscar might have taken her snack. It cracked me up. Let's hear it. Do you think he signed them yet?
Jenna Fischer
Signed what?
Angela Kinsey
Forget it. Is that chocolate vanilla swirl?
Jenna Fischer
Just chocolate. Angela, for the last time, I did not eat your chocolate vanilla swirl.
Angela Kinsey
Don't look at me. I don't know why I write my name on things.
Jenna Fischer
Chocolate vanilla swirl Pudding.
Angela Kinsey
Yes. Oscar's sitting there and he's just eating the pudding and Angela's just glaring at him.
Jenna Fischer
That's my favorite pudding.
Angela Kinsey
Is it rings?
Jenna Fischer
It's either chocolate vanilla swirl or tapioca.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, yeah. Well, Angela is positive that he took her pudding.
Jenna Fischer
Can you tell? Maybe I'm a little hangry right now because I'm really zeroing in on what the snack was.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, I just thought that was so cute. I love that Oscar said for the last time. Like, how many times has she brought it up?
Jenna Fischer
Exactly.
Angela Kinsey
Okay, lastly, there were a series of candy bag talking heads. It's everyone reacting to having to stay late. I wanted to share three of them. First of all, Angela says Michael forces department heads to stay until all the forms are signed. It's not so much a problem for me as it is for my cats. Cats are creatures of habit and they expect mommy home at 6pm sharp. It just makes me laugh that they all call her Mommy in her mind.
Jenna Fischer
Yes. Well, what do your pets call you?
Angela Kinsey
Not Mommy. I don't know. I've never thought about it. Well, what? Oh, my gosh. Clearly, your pets have a name for you.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
What?
Jenna Fischer
Motho.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, good Lord.
Jenna Fischer
What?
Angela Kinsey
Motho?
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, my gosh. Jenna.
Jenna Fischer
Hi, Motho.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, my gosh. That is hilarious. I've never even thought about it. Wait, Cassie, you have cats. Do they have a name for you?
Jenna Fischer
They just call me Mama.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, my gosh. Mama and Mother.
Jenna Fischer
Does Robin call you something?
Angela Kinsey
No, no, no.
Jenna Fischer
He's indifferent to me at best. I see.
Angela Kinsey
I've never thought of it. I'm going to ask my kids. What do they think? Pets, call me. I'll report back. All right. The next talking Toby, he says when I stay past five, I start counting the holes in the ceiling. Last year I got to 457.
Jenna Fischer
Sad suck.
Angela Kinsey
Sad suck. And the last one is a talking head from Stanley. Tonight is bridge night. I hate canceling bridge night.
Jenna Fischer
That so tracks that he plays bridge. I love it.
Angela Kinsey
I do, too.
Jenna Fischer
I actually love this detail.
Angela Kinsey
Well, those are my second drink tidbits for this episode. Join us this Wednesday for all about Kevin Malone with special guest Brian Baumgartner.
Jenna Fischer
See you then. 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. We were just rocking out to our own intro.
Angela Kinsey
We were actually dancing and miming the words.
Jenna Fischer
Hello, everyone. Today we are going to be talking about the fight. The Fight, Season 2, Episode 6, written by Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg, known to us as Gene and Lee. They're a duo.
Angela Kinsey
They're funny fellas.
Jenna Fischer
This episode was directed by Ken Kwapis. We love Ken Kwapus.
Angela Kinsey
We love Ken Kwapus.
Jenna Fischer
I don't even know if it's possible for people to understand our love of Ken Kwapas.
Angela Kinsey
I don't know.
Jenna Fischer
There are some directors that just are in our hearts. Ken Kwapus, Paul Feig, Charles McDougal. Charles McDougal for yelling action.
Angela Kinsey
For a different way though, like, Ken Kwapus is like a cozy blanket. Paul Feig you want to hang out.
Jenna Fischer
With all day and drink martinis.
Angela Kinsey
Charles McDougal. You kind of want to get drunk in a pub with and yell at people.
Jenna Fischer
It's so true. We'll talk about Charles McDougall when we get to him. We haven't really had a chance to talk about him, but that was a little preview.
Angela Kinsey
Mm.
Jenna Fischer
We have a special treat today. Our summary of this episode is going to be read by a fan.
Angela Kinsey
Dun, dun, dun.
Jenna Fischer
So here we go. Alexis is describing the fight.
Angela Kinsey
Dwight becomes assistant to the sensei at.
Jenna Fischer
His dojo and spends the day bragging and telling everyone how tough he is. Michael has a lot of papers to sign. Jim and Pam use the opportunity to trick Michael by saying they think Dwight is stronger than Michael is. So Michael agrees to duel Dwight at the dojo to prove his manliness and procrastinate doing his work. I thought that was very good.
Angela Kinsey
That's really good.
Jenna Fischer
I feel like she covered it.
Angela Kinsey
She was very concise.
Jenna Fischer
I feel like maybe she wrote it down and read it, which is what I would do. So. Alexis, Alexis, I'm with you.
Angela Kinsey
You've made a friend.
Jenna Fischer
That's right. All right, let's get into the fast facts for the fight. Fast fact number one. This is the first episode from our new writing team of Jean and Lee. I emailed with Lee I Zooberg. Okay. And he told me that before getting hired on the office, Gene was a part time nanny and Lee was an assistant to a director. This was their first staff writing job. They were over the moon and they were particularly excited about the free lunches.
Angela Kinsey
I can really relate to that because I can too. When I interned on Conan O'Brien, I got free food and I was so.
Jenna Fischer
Excited every time I got a job as an actor. When I was a struggling actor, I got excited about the free meals. The free food at work.
Angela Kinsey
It's a big deal.
Jenna Fischer
I kind of still get excited about it. I have to be honest. Snack tables.
Angela Kinsey
I hate to break it to everyone at Earwolf, but I hit up that fruit bowl hard every morning when we come here. Yeah, like apple, banana.
Jenna Fischer
Earwolf has a basket of chips. That's really good too. Yeah. Offices in. In real life, I used to get really excited to go in the break room and like, someone would bring in some Danish or some muffins or cookies.
Angela Kinsey
I don't know. But if you were anything like me, I would eat ramen noodles because you could buy nine for a dollar.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, yeah.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, man.
Jenna Fischer
You know, ramen noodles are really a great meal for, like, family meals with kids. You can spruce it up. You can saute some brown chicken and put a bunch of veggies in with the noodles.
Angela Kinsey
You can also not cook them at all and crunch them up and put them in a salad instead of a crouton.
Jenna Fischer
This has turned into a different show.
Angela Kinsey
Okay. That's like a. You can make a Chinese chicken salad. You can use ramen noodles as your crunchies.
Jenna Fischer
Wow.
Angela Kinsey
There you go.
Jenna Fischer
Some more information from Lee about this being his first episode. He said they were terrified because, remember, we talked about how they break down the episodes as a group and then writers get assigned to write the episode. He said that since their episode was episode six, they had very little in their Outline. He said they had fleshed out the other episodes much more than this one, and he thought that they were being set up to fail and they were being tested. Yes, exactly. Because he was like, how do you give the staff writers with the least amount of experience the least worked on outline? Yes, exactly. He said after they turned in their script and they had to get their notes on their script, Greg had pneumonia, and they had to go to Greg's house in order to get their notes. And he said the thing that really stood out to him was that he explained the idea of the Jim Pam subtext to Jean and Lee. They had written a really on the nose Jim Pam scene. And Greg said, sometimes just a look is enough. And he said it kind of blew their minds. And that Greg completely brought that idea to them. And in the episode, something I remember is when Pam is reading Jim's palm. That was a big deal. It was how there was always this discussion, how can Jim and Pam physically touch without it being inappropriate? Right.
Angela Kinsey
Well, lady, I think that was very intimate. I even looked up online about hand touching, and it is considered physical intimacy. That was some major flirting. That's a note card I have for later.
Jenna Fischer
All right, should we move on to fast fact number two?
Angela Kinsey
Let's do it.
Jenna Fischer
All right, fast fact number two. Sensei Ira was played by Lance Krall.
Angela Kinsey
Is it Sensei or Sensei? Oh, my gosh, it's Sensei. Ira was played by Lance Krall, who's a friend of mine. And I have five note cards on him because he and I talked on the phone yesterday.
Jenna Fischer
Oh. You know that I was very starstruck by him when he was on our episode.
Angela Kinsey
I know. He even said, I think Jenna watched a lot of Joe Schmo.
Jenna Fischer
Yes. That cracks me up that he said that, because I did corner him at lunch one day, and I made him tell me everything about the Joe Schmo show. If you guys have not seen this, please go look it up. The Joe Schmo show was a fake reality show contest where everybody on the show were actors except for one person.
Angela Kinsey
The Joe Schmoe guy was a real person, and everyone around him was acting like they were in a reality show.
Jenna Fischer
Yes. And they were locked in this house, and they had to do competitions and vote each other off at the end. By the way, Kristen Wiig is on that show with Lance.
Angela Kinsey
A lot of great comedians and improvisers that I knew were on that show.
Jenna Fischer
I auditioned for that. It was cast by Alison Jones, and I was devastated when I did not get it. Because I thought, what an amazing acting experience to, like, live in a house and have to play this character 24 7. And by the way, the show is brilliant. So, yes, I am starstruck by Lance. I can't believe you know him. I can't believe I didn't know that you know him.
Angela Kinsey
So I emailed him yesterday, and I was like, lance, we're gonna be talking about the fight. Where are you? Can you hop on the phone? And he was like, I'm actually in Atlanta. He has moved to Atlanta, and he set up his own production company. Cause he's really. He's an actor, comedian, writer, and he has a production company in Atlanta called Picture IT Productions. How about that? You can check it out@pictureitproductions.com all right, Lance. So we met so long ago. And I said, lance, did we meet doing improv? I can't remember exactly how we met. And he remembered exactly. And it made me laugh so hard.
Jenna Fischer
What?
Angela Kinsey
Okay, so he was friends. We had mutual friends. And I went into an editing bay where a friend of ours worked, and they were helping me with my acting.
Jenna Fischer
Okay.
Angela Kinsey
And I said, lance, was this before the office? He said, no, Angela, it was like, after the pilot. But you really didn't think the show was gonna go. So you were trying to put some of your office, like, scene with Kevin and accounting in your reel.
Jenna Fischer
Should we say what a reel is?
Angela Kinsey
Yes, yes.
Jenna Fischer
So just for people who don't know, like, you know, actors have a headshot, and on the back is their resume. And you give that at auditions, but you also would send a link to clips of various performances you had been on. And that's your acting reel. It helps you get jobs. So, Angela, you were putting together your acting reel, right. With some clips from last.
Angela Kinsey
With some clips. And this really dates me and our show because it was all on vhs.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, my gosh. And there was a guy actually editing.
Angela Kinsey
Yes. And I had brought in, like, a box of all of my footage, and they were putting together a montage of my scenes. And Lance said, angela, it was so cute and charming because you turned to me and you said, hey, will you watch this? Will you? What do you think of my reel? And he said, ang, it was every second you've ever been on screen. He said, it was so long. And also in some of it, you didn't even have dialogue. You just walked by.
Jenna Fischer
That is hilarious.
Angela Kinsey
There was, like, a commercial like I did for Chrysler where I walked by and I just went. And I, like, did thumbs up at someone. I was like, oh, my gosh, Lance, it's so embarrassing. But that's the first time we met. So it was after the pilot when I thought the Office wasn't gonna go, and I was trying to figure out how to get more work.
Jenna Fischer
That's very funny that then he ends up being on the show.
Angela Kinsey
I know. And then he told me. He said, ang, did you know I tested for the role of Jim? He tested for Jim.
Jenna Fischer
What? So I must have done scenes with him.
Angela Kinsey
He said, you weren't in his group on his test day. He had a different group. And Bob Odenkirk was in his group for Michael Scott.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, yes, that's right. I was in the Steve Carell test group. Well, you know something that's funny about Bob Odenkirk, since you brought him up? I knew Bob Odenkirk when I was auditioning for the Office and we were both called. I was called to do Pam and he was called to do Michael. So we got together and we practiced together. Aw. But then I wasn't in his test group, and I had thought, darn it, we worked a bunch of bits together. We were so excited to show them off. But he did this very funny audition where he brought in his guitar and he sang a song to Pam. And we had worked it all out. We were gonna ask if we could do it if we were paired together, but we never were.
Angela Kinsey
So Lance told me this great story that the day that he was screen testing, you know, he's in the lobby waiting. They were all kind of giddy that Bob Odenkirk was in their group. They were all really big fans of Bob's. And Bob walked over to Lance and was like, hey, you wanna run lines with me? And Lance was like, uh, sure. And he said it was really cool. And they like, sort of went out in this lobby and ran lines like three or four times. Like the scenes all the way through. He just thought it was a really cool moment. So Lance said when he read for Jim, he was like, you know, I really felt like I just tried too hard. And he said then when he got called back, when we were once the show was up and going for the fight, he read that it was like a martial arts guy. And he goes, oh, my gosh. Lance's background is actually martial arts. He was in the martial arts community for 15 years. He has a third degree black belt in taekwondo. He was the sixth in the nation in his, like, weight category in 1992. He trained junior Olympic gold medalists. Like, he Was.
Jenna Fischer
Did they know this about him? I mean, I think they didn't.
Angela Kinsey
I don't know. But he said when he saw who the character was, he was like, oh, my gosh. He said, I am not going to try to go for the joke at all. I'm just going to go in as if I'm, like, working with one of my students and teaching a class. And that's what he did. He put no pizzazz on it. He went in and played it really straight. And they loved it.
Jenna Fischer
They always loved that. Those are the people they always cast. Were the people who played it real? This leads me to my third fast fact. Angela, I know you might have more to say about Lance.
Angela Kinsey
No, no, no. Go, go.
Jenna Fischer
But this is a fan question. Is anyone on the cast trained in martial arts? That's from Will. So, yes, Lance. And also, Rainn Wilson studied karate his sophomore year in college and is a yellow belt.
Angela Kinsey
I didn't know that.
Jenna Fischer
Yes. And I asked Rain if the writers knew that and he said no. Isn't that, what a weird coincidence that they wrote this whole karate themed episode and Rain is a yellow belt and Lance was a black belt.
Angela Kinsey
Yes. That is so wild.
Jenna Fischer
Okay, do you have more Lance stuff? Because I interrupted your Lance cards with my fast facts.
Angela Kinsey
He actually had a really funny thing that made me laugh. He said that when it. When they got to the actual fight and the choreography of the fight, he said he was so surprised because there was no choreography. There was no stunt guy. He said, literally, it was like, okay, guys, just two idiots try to hit each other.
Jenna Fischer
This was very early on. We did not have a budget.
Angela Kinsey
That's what I told him. I told him. I said, lance, this does not surprise me because they put Phil Shea, our prop guy, in a box for hours.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
There was no, like, stunt person in.
Jenna Fischer
The early years of the Office. I always felt like it was a show we were making in our garage for our neighborhood.
Angela Kinsey
I always felt like it was a one act play we were doing, like, in someone's garage.
Jenna Fischer
As a kid, I used to do that. I used to put on plays in my garage. And the garage door was the curtain.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
And so. And I would, like, put chairs out on my driveway for the neighborhood kids to come see my show. It was like a puppet show or a variety show. That's what the Office always felt like to me. Just like a bunch of us making a show in our garage.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. So this won't be the last time you see Sensei Ira. He does come back in season nine in the episode Junior Salesman. He does? Yes.
Jenna Fischer
What does he do in that episode?
Angela Kinsey
He was actually there to interview for a job.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, I remember that. Oh, Dwight brings in a bunch of his old friends and weirdos to interview family members. Yes.
Angela Kinsey
Lance emailed me a great behind the scenes photo of him and the other people interviewing for jobs in the conference room. And he has his karate outfit on over a business suit so his tie is like poking out. It's like so odd. But yeah, he was on season one and then on season nine, so he sort of had this great perspective of being on the bookends of the show.
Jenna Fischer
What a very, very cool thing.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. Thank you so much, Lance for taking time out of your schedule in Atlanta to chat me up. And we're gonna call you again come Junior Salesman.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah, I love it. All right, let's take a break and we'll be back to break down the fight.
Angela Kinsey
Today's episode is sponsored by Acorns. You know, this is that time of year when I start to think about, all right, what are my goals for next year?
Jenna Fischer
Yes. What is the new year? What do I want to achieve? I think a lot of people make goals around new habits. It could be breaking bad habits, forming new good habits. And I think another thing people start thinking about is financial habits. Taking a look at Am I saving enough? Am I putting away enough for the future?
Angela Kinsey
Sure.
Jenna Fischer
Well, Acorns can make it easy to start automatically saving and investing for you, your kids and your retirement, even during the holidays. And Acorn lets you get started with the spare money you've got right now. That could be just $5 a day. Or Acorns can round every purchase you make up to the dollar and it just automatically invests your spare change for you.
Angela Kinsey
You can also get bonus investments just for buying the stuff you need from the brands you love.
Jenna Fischer
Head to acorns.com officeladies or download the Acorns app to start saving and investing for your future today.
Angela Kinsey
Paid non client endorsement compensation provides incentive to positively promote Acorns Tier 3 compensation provided investing involves risk. Acorns Advisors LLC and SEC registered investment advisor. View important disclosures@acorns.com OfficeLadies is your schedule crazy? Just want some me time? We could all use a sanctuary from stress. Why not turn your bedroom into the space to decompress? With our selection of comfortable beds, pillows, decor, mood lighting and so much more. Every time you step in there, it's nothing but me time. I mean, you time sounds like a dream, right? We are here to make your me time Dreams come true. Visit us in store or at ikea-usa.com sleep to create a comfy, blissful bedroom. Today this show is sponsored by Liquid iv. One of the things I always struggle with is staying hydrated. Am I drinking enough water? And I really try to stay on top of it throughout the day. But when I need an extra boost for faster hydration, maybe I've had a big workout, maybe I've had a long travel day. I use Liquid IV and they have a lot of great flavors including sugar free flavors like raspberry, melon, white, peach and green grape. And Liquid IV is more than just a drink. It's a science backed way to hydrate better than water alone. And it's super easy and convenient to use. You just tear, pour and enjoy. Break the mold and own your ritual. Just one stick plus 16 ounces of water hydrates better than water alone. Eight essential vitamins and nutrients always non GMO, vegan, gluten free, dairy free and soy free. Embrace your ritual with extraordinary hydration from Liquid IV. Get 20% off your first order of Liquid IV when you go to LiquidIV.com and use code OfficeLadies at checkout. That's 20% off your first order when you shop. Better hydration today using promo code officeladiesiquidiv.com.
Jenna Fischer
And we are back.
Angela Kinsey
Hello.
Jenna Fischer
This episode begins with a prank. Jim pranks Dwight by putting his desk in the bathroom.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, poor Dwight.
Jenna Fischer
This was a good one.
Angela Kinsey
This was a good prank.
Jenna Fischer
I like this one. You have to look for Kevin in the background at the end when he leaves one of the stalls, he has a lit candle and a newspaper. And for all of you office geeks, this was the moment that led to Kevin's line in Office Olympics about the bathroom candle smelling like cookies.
Angela Kinsey
Also, remember that in the Dundees he did win the don't go in there after me award.
Jenna Fischer
Yes, and I think we see why.
Angela Kinsey
Also though, guys, who is lighting candles inside the stall? Like he doesn't come out and light the candle. He exits the stall holding a candle. A lit candle.
Jenna Fischer
Yes. And that candle really did smell like cookies. I want to say that. Did you notice that there is another door by the urinal?
Angela Kinsey
Mm.
Jenna Fischer
Angela, where does it go?
Angela Kinsey
We don't know. I like to think, what is that door?
Jenna Fischer
Is it a utility closet?
Angela Kinsey
I think that's what I think. I think there's like a mop in there or something. That's my guess.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah. Those bathrooms did not work.
Angela Kinsey
Nope.
Jenna Fischer
It was very deceiving. We would have people come Visit us on the set like guests, family members. And they would go in there thinking that they were real bathrooms. And they weren't.
Angela Kinsey
No.
Jenna Fischer
In the next scene, Dwight calls his sensei Jim, asks if he's talking to his mother. I love that. I think John is really good in that scene. And then there is his whole talking head about being a sensei. Assistant to the sensei. What is it?
Angela Kinsey
So, yeah, Dwight says he's the senpai, which is basically like the assistant to the sensei.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah. Although not assistant sensei.
Angela Kinsey
Right. But also actually it's not him. It's like the girl. Remember? Because later in the episode, Sensei Ira is like, there's my senpai. So we learn that it's actually not Dwight.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, my gosh, I missed that.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. The girl that walks through the scene.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
Is actually the senpai.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, I totally missed that. All right, so next we have Pam's talking head. And this is when we find out that today is the day that Michael has to sign time cards, purchase order approvals, and expense reports that they're all due at the end of the day. And this happens a couple times a year. And he always procrastinates wildly on these days. As a former secretary, I really relate to the dynamic between Pam and Michael in this episode because during one of my early secretarial jobs, I had a boss that would take so long to do his end of the month report that I would have to drive to the airport because the FedEx at the airport had the latest drop time. I'm saying LAX airport, which. Anyone who lives in Los Angeles, if I drive to LAX now, it's about a two hour drive. So I would have to drive to the airport for like the 7pm it might have even been 9pm FedEx drop.
Angela Kinsey
Nowhere to park.
Jenna Fischer
Nowhere to park.
Angela Kinsey
People are blowing whistles at you.
Jenna Fischer
Yes.
Angela Kinsey
Like move out of the way. It's like chaos. I do love that Pam calls it the perfect storm.
Jenna Fischer
I do too.
Angela Kinsey
Also, though, Michael isn't having even to do any work. It's not like he's having to put together a report. All he has to to do is sign them now.
Jenna Fischer
That's right. It's just his signature.
Angela Kinsey
It could take him like 20 minutes.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
And he'd be done.
Jenna Fischer
This is how. This is why I would get so mad at my boss who couldn't manage to get his report done. Because I would think to myself, it's not new information. It's a boilerplate report that you have to do every month. It wasn't a special project that sneaked up on us. Yeah, time management, dude. You can see I'm still.
Angela Kinsey
You're still annoying.
Jenna Fischer
A little angry about it.
Angela Kinsey
Well, if I had to drive to the airport to mail something, I'd be ticked off for a long time.
Jenna Fischer
All right, so next up, in Michael's attempt to procrastinate, he tells Ryan to update the emergency contacts. So I enter that scene where Michael is telling Ryan to do the emergency contact list. I was so concentrated on not laughing at Steve, who was being so funny in that scene. It took everything I had that when BJ would look at me and say the line, updating emergency contacts, I lost it. I started. It became, you know, in the scenes where you can't stop laughing and you have a trigger.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
It was BJ turning to me and very sadly saying, updating emergency contacts. I think I only got through one scene, and I did it by not looking at BJ in the eye. Like, I stared at his forehead.
Angela Kinsey
I spent nine years looking at Steve Carell's forehead because if I made eye contact with Steve, I used to say he would just, like, suck out your soul if you made eye contact with him through comedy. I could not lock eyes with him or I would start laughing. So I would. I would look at his forehead.
Jenna Fischer
Every conference room scene, I would have to do that. Or look at someone's ear.
Angela Kinsey
Yes.
Jenna Fischer
Or their eyebrows.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. Their neck.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah. Not in the eyes.
Angela Kinsey
Not in the eyes. Well, I thought that was a major Pam sass moment. I think you have two really good Pam sass moments in this episode, and one of them is where you just walk out while he's talking and he's like, ah, she just left. Finish talking.
Jenna Fischer
I was really channeling my real life experience working for that crazy guy. Michael gets Ryan's phone number in this episode.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, man.
Jenna Fischer
She's so delighted. He keeps calling him and doing voices and Angela, flip phone.
Angela Kinsey
Flip phone. Outdated phone is very featured in this episode, as is. My favorite thing is when Steve, as Michael Scott cracks himself up. It's like one of my favorite things.
Jenna Fischer
Yes, we talked about this a little bit in the opening. Pam reading Jim's palm.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, I have. That's a note card I'm going to reach for six minutes, 11 seconds, you guys. Major Pam and Jim flirt happening. So touching someone's hand is actually like that. Like how you were tracing his hand is a sign of physical intimacy. Yeah, Yeah, I know. So that was like. I was like, what is happening?
Jenna Fischer
Did you notice on my computer.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, I saw that's like your decoy, though. That's your way in. Listen, these are two people who shouldn't be flirting but so desperately want to be flirting. So they have to find ways around it. So listen out there, if you see someone at work who's like, trying to.
Jenna Fischer
Read your palm, oh, they might have a crush on you.
Angela Kinsey
They might have a crush on you.
Jenna Fischer
But I thought it was really cool that the set deck people put the palm reading website on my computer.
Angela Kinsey
Well, they had to justify why Pam was doing it.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
So here she is, bored at front reception. She says, jim, let me read your palm. Flirty flirt. Sneaky flirt.
Jenna Fischer
I know. I see a note card that you have. That is my next topic. Do you want to say it?
Angela Kinsey
Well, wait. Do you like that this note card only has one word?
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
What's that word? Jenna.
Jenna Fischer
Stacy.
Angela Kinsey
Stacy. Six minutes, 17 seconds. Oh, my gosh, Brian, you would crack me up every time you said Stacy.
Jenna Fischer
It's only one word, but it goes through, like four octaves. And we used to. That was like. We would. That was a bit on the side.
Angela Kinsey
We would tease him. We'd be like, Stacy. At 6 minutes, 49 seconds. There's this whole scene with Jim and Dwight where they're talking and Jim is talking to DWight about humans versus robots.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
All right. In the background, Phyllis is at her desk. Stanley is not.
Jenna Fischer
Where's Stanley?
Angela Kinsey
Where is Stanley? Stanley never leaves his desk.
Jenna Fischer
He was never missing.
Angela Kinsey
Never missing, never. He's actually one of the characters that is probably the most featured at his desk.
Jenna Fischer
We used to joke about this. We would say, why do we all have to be at our desks in the background of all the scenes? Do none of us ever go to the bathroom?
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
Do we never leave to go downstairs? Anything a reason?
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
None of us left our desk. But in particular, Stanley was always at his desk. He had to sit in the background of everyone's talking heads.
Angela Kinsey
He was always at his desk. But then you. You see as they pull back the camera that Stanley's at the file cabinet, but he never filed anything. To me, that was crazy. That's how I knew it was early on in the show, because after that, I think Leslie was probably like, yeah, no, I'm not. I'm not filing.
Jenna Fischer
I'm sitting down.
Angela Kinsey
I'm sitting down at 7 minutes, 40 seconds. Jenna. It's one of my favorite Pam sass moments.
Jenna Fischer
What is it?
Angela Kinsey
Okay, so Michael has a piece of paper, and he's just, like, practicing his signature.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, yeah.
Angela Kinsey
And Pam taps on the glass and Goes. You could practice on the forms. I mean, that is some really good Pam sass.
Jenna Fischer
Pam is. It's such a great relationship between Pam and Michael because she is his subordinate, yet also his parents in many ways. Oh, yeah, she has to corral him. Kind of like a sheep dog might corral the sheep.
Angela Kinsey
Okay. At 8 minutes, 28 seconds. Oh, man, this made me laugh so hard. We learned that Toby's emergency contact is still his ex wife, even though her new last name is now Becker.
Jenna Fischer
And he says, please don't put X.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, you don't need to put X. You don't need to put X. Okay, I have a screen grab I'm going to show you. I took it with my phone.
Jenna Fischer
Oh.
Angela Kinsey
At 9 minutes, 42 seconds, Jim. When Jim is saying, you know, a ton of 14 year old girls to Michael, there is a brown object in the top left corner. At first I thought, oh, it's a boom. And I froze the, you know, frame. I don't know if it's a boom or like an elbow. I don't know what it is. I'm going to show you a picture of it.
Jenna Fischer
All right. She's getting out her phone, folks.
Angela Kinsey
Okay. All right, tell me what the heck this is. And guys, I want you to look at it because it is. What?
Jenna Fischer
We'll put this on officeladies.com.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, okay, now I. And then I zoomed in. Do you see it?
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
Now look at it close up. What is that? And it's only in that frame.
Jenna Fischer
Is it Michael's shoulder or elbow or something? No, Michael, it's not there yet.
Angela Kinsey
Michael is standing here. See his eyeline? This is here. Michael's right here.
Jenna Fischer
I don't know. It's a brown orb, everyone.
Angela Kinsey
It's a brown orb. And I'm perplexed. Okay.
Jenna Fischer
We've presented a mystery with no solution.
Angela Kinsey
I know that's part of my superpower. I'll notice things. I won't give you answers. We have to talk about what happens at 9 minutes, 48 seconds. We have to.
Jenna Fischer
What happens?
Angela Kinsey
We learned that Michael and Dwight spent New Year's Eve together.
Jenna Fischer
Yes.
Angela Kinsey
And that they watch. Oh, they rented that even dates the show. They rented Armageddon.
Jenna Fischer
Yes. And that Dwight cried at the end.
Angela Kinsey
Yes. Oh, and I actually.
Jenna Fischer
But it was because. Why did Dwight cry at the end? It's such brilliant writing. It's because it wasn't just the movie. It was that it began to snow.
Angela Kinsey
Yes.
Jenna Fischer
It began to snow at precisely midnight.
Angela Kinsey
And it was like the perfect moment. I actually saw Armageddon with my dad, because my dad's a drilling engineer. And so he was like, oh, this has drilling engineers in it. And we went and saw it and all, like, throughout the movie. Anytime it was anything drilling related, my dad. I was like, nope, that's not how you do it. Never happened. That's not. Nope. Not up to code. That never happened. I was like, okay, dad, but I went down the rabbit hole last night, like I do sometimes. Like, I went looking for the Joe Schmo Show. I looked up Armageddon last night, and I found a few different synopsises of what the movie was about, and it's too good to not read. Jenna.
Jenna Fischer
Okay.
Angela Kinsey
It's so classic. 1998. Michael Bay, are you ready?
Jenna Fischer
I'm ready.
Angela Kinsey
When an asteroid the size of Texas threatens to collide with Earth in under a month, by the way, NASA honcho Dan Truman, played by Billy Bob Thornton, determines the only way to stop it is to drill its surface and detonate a nuclear bomb inside the asteroid. This leads him to renowned driller Harry Stamper, played by Bruce Willis, who agrees to helm the dangerous space mission, provided he can bring along his own ragtag crew. Among them is cocksure AJ Played by Ben Affleck, who Harry thinks isn't good enough for his daughter, Liv Tyler, until the mission proves otherwise.
Jenna Fischer
Wow.
Angela Kinsey
I mean, wow. Come on.
Jenna Fischer
So your dad was Bruce Willis?
Angela Kinsey
My dad was Bruce Willis.
Jenna Fischer
The driller. The drilling expert.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
And he felt that everything Bruce Willis character had to say was inaccurate.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. I would say the two movies my dad got really mouthy about were Armageddon and Twister.
Jenna Fischer
Twister, the tornado movie.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. Cause we live in Tornado Alley, and, like, they were, like, driving up on this tornado, and like, a truck flies in the air. Like a giant semi truck flies in the air. Cows are flying in the air. And the guy goes, I think it's Bill Paxton. Goes, we've got some debris. And my dad goes, debris, my ass. I don't know. Anyway, we have to discuss the fact that Pam wants French onion chips.
Jenna Fischer
I love French onion chips.
Angela Kinsey
Gross. Was that. I have a question for you. Was that your personal pick or did Pam. Was that scripted?
Jenna Fischer
I don't know, but I feel like it could have been my personal pick, because a lot of times if you.
Angela Kinsey
Have to eat something, they ask you.
Jenna Fischer
They do. They ask you if you have any food allergies. The props person will call you at home and say, we're doing a dinner scene. Is there anything you can't eat?
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. I feel like Phil Shea would have been like, jenna, what bag of chips would you want in case you have to open them up and eat them?
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
So you said French onion chips.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
This means you wouldn't have been flirting with anyone the rest of the day because your breath would be disgusting.
Jenna Fischer
Well, that's a good point. I didn't really think of that. I also like a barbecue chip.
Angela Kinsey
I love a barbecue chip.
Jenna Fischer
Can I tell you a little bit of information about the chips?
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
Okay. They are HERS chips. H E R R S. And this is a local Pennsylvania company. The HERS chip. I'm flipping my papers because I was going to talk about this later.
Angela Kinsey
Maybe you should have written it on a note card.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, I see.
Angela Kinsey
No, I'm just saying, look how easy it is for me to see my information.
Jenna Fischer
A little bit of Angela Sass, everyone. All right, here it is. I found it.
Angela Kinsey
Okay.
Jenna Fischer
The hearse chips are also what we put in our vending machine, so you can buy them in there. And I just think it's cool that we used local stuff to fill out the world, and it's kind of a cool story. The story of her's chips. I went down a rabbit hole, Angela.
Angela Kinsey
Well, listen, if I just read you the synopsis of Armageddon, you better tell me about hers.
Jenna Fischer
Guys. James Hur broke with his family's history of chicken farming. And in 1946, he bought a potato chip company. He was only 21 years old, and he bought it for $1,750. Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
Wow.
Jenna Fischer
And now it's a huge, successful company, and you can even go there and tour it.
Angela Kinsey
You would love that.
Jenna Fischer
You can tour the facility.
Angela Kinsey
You love a factory tour.
Jenna Fischer
You know I love a factory tour. Angela, we've been invited to tour what? The Sass factory in San Antonio.
Angela Kinsey
They said they would send us some shoes.
Jenna Fischer
I want them.
Angela Kinsey
I know.
Jenna Fischer
I want some sashes.
Angela Kinsey
I'm really excited about that. And then, I mean, listen, if we're talking factory tours, Jenna, I don't even know how to tell you this. You're going to be so jealous. But next week, I am going to the Tough Shed factory for your.
Jenna Fischer
That's what she shed.
Angela Kinsey
For my.
Jenna Fischer
That's what she shed.
Angela Kinsey
I'm going to the Tough Shed factory. I'm so excited, you guys.
Jenna Fischer
This is a weird thing that happens to us. I went and bought some tile. I needed some tile because I was doing a renovation outside, and I went to this tile showroom, it's called Arto Tile in Los Angeles. And they geeked out and they recognized me and they gave me a factory tour. This is a really cool perk. Yes. If you like to see how things are made.
Angela Kinsey
I love to see how things are made. I loved that show. How it's made.
Jenna Fischer
How it's made.
Angela Kinsey
It's so good.
Jenna Fischer
I know. And so I've gone on quite a few factory tours as a result of my fame.
Angela Kinsey
You have. This is my first factory tour. Tough Shed's my first one, and I'm very excited. Jenna.
Jenna Fischer
All right. I wish I could go with you. So, something I have to talk about, Angela, before we go to break is the scene at Michael and Jim's desk when Michael talks about being in the Damn Rascals.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
His street gang. This is the same scene where they talk about Armageddon, but when Dwight punches Michael in the stomach, he does the double punch. And Steve gets hit, and he's like, that was John's weak spot.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
John would laugh so, so hard. And I think that's why in that scene, there is not a single shot of John's face. If you watch it after he punches Michael in the stomach, you never see John's face because he couldn't get through that.
Angela Kinsey
He couldn't get through that.
Jenna Fischer
He loved whenever Steve couldn't get a word out.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. Especially in pain. Like, there's a scene later we'll talk about. But. But you know Kevin sits on Michael's lap when he's Santa.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, yes.
Angela Kinsey
And Steve let out, like, a painful moan. And I didn't think John was gonna be able to get back from that.
Jenna Fischer
So this reminds me of that bit that Steve did on the Dana Carvey show, the nauseous Waiter.
Angela Kinsey
It's one of the funniest things I've ever seen.
Jenna Fischer
You guys have to look it up. Steve did it for us one time when we were in the conference room together. And this is. John couldn't handle it. I thought John was gonna die.
Angela Kinsey
I thought John was gonna die. But we were weeping. You know when you start laughing where all you do is shake and make no noise?
Jenna Fischer
Yes.
Angela Kinsey
Cause Steve would do this thing. So the waiter. He's a waiter, but food makes him nauseous. So he would walk up to a table and have to give the specials of the day. So he'd be like, so ask me, Jenna, what are the specials of the day?
Jenna Fischer
What are the specials of the day?
Angela Kinsey
Well, we have broccoli. Broccoli.
Jenna Fischer
And, like, he would start.
Angela Kinsey
Start to puke as he listed off the specials.
Jenna Fischer
Yes. You'd be like, we have a delicious chicken with a cream Sauce. Cream. Sorry. Cream sauce.
Angela Kinsey
It was so hilarious.
Jenna Fischer
It's so good. We are not doing it justice.
Angela Kinsey
We are not doing justice to it at all.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, my gosh. If Steve ever comes on our podcast.
Angela Kinsey
Do you think he would do that?
Jenna Fischer
Yes, I think he would. Oh, Steve, come on and do nauseous waiter for us. We would. We would make him do that. We loved that. Angela, I think we should go to a break.
Angela Kinsey
I think we should.
Jenna Fischer
I would like to go eat some chips maybe. Maybe some sour cream and onion chips from the basket.
Angela Kinsey
Clearly, you just want to be the gift that keeps on giving in here.
Jenna Fischer
Yes. All right, we'll see you in a second.
Angela Kinsey
I get overwhelmed when it comes to makeup. I never really know the combination of things to use, and that's why Charlotte Tilbury has been a game changer for me. I am so excited about this partnership with the podcast. Jen and I have been talking about it because Charlotte Tilbury has rigorous standards that ensure that every product is designed and formulated for performance like nothing else on the market. You know, I just started using Charlotte's magic cream, and it really is magic. I'll tell you why. It's this miracle moisturizer. It's got cushion, it's got a little lift, which I need, and it's clinically proven to make skin look smoother and firmer and to make your makeup last longer. Charlotte Tilbury's performance you can trust is legendary for a reason. You can use code OFFICE15 for 15% off on Charlotte tilbury.com plus new account holders get free delivery. This ad is brought to you by Charlotte Tilbury USA customers only and validation until March 2, 2025. For full TNCs and exclusions, see the Charlotte Tilbury website. The Apple Watch Series 10 is here. It has the biggest display ever.
Jenna Fischer
It's also the thinnest Apple Watch ever, making it even more comfortable on your.
Angela Kinsey
Wrist whether you're running, swimming, or sleeping. And it's the fastest charging Apple Watch.
Jenna Fischer
Getting you eight hours of charge in just 15 minutes. The Apple Watch Series 10, available for.
Angela Kinsey
The first time in glossy jet black aluminum.
Jenna Fischer
Compared to previous generations, iPhone Xs are later required. Charge time and actual results will vary.
Angela Kinsey
This podcast is sponsored by Squarespace. You all know we love Squarespace. It is a all in one website platform for entrepreneurs to stand out and succeed online. And you know, whether you're just starting out or you're managing a growing brand, Squarespace makes it easy to create a beautiful website, engage with your audience, and sell anything from products to content to time. It's all in one place. It's all on your terms, built just the way you want it, starting with.
Jenna Fischer
The Squarespace blueprint AI and SEO tools. Because I don't know how to build a website, I don't know how to do it. But Squarespace has got your back. You can choose from all of the professionally curated layouts. It's so easy. You just click and drop and you've got a website.
Angela Kinsey
Also, if you're wanting your business to grow, you're going to want to see your analytics. Squarespace can give you insights on your top traffic sources, understand how your reach is growing. You can track your sales metrics and learn where to focus your new engagement.
Jenna Fischer
Head to squarespace.com for a free trial. And when you're ready to Launch, go to squarespace.com officeladies to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. We're back from break. Angela?
Angela Kinsey
Yes?
Jenna Fischer
I have a time code.
Angela Kinsey
What?
Jenna Fischer
Yeah, I actually. I have three time codes.
Angela Kinsey
Jenna, I'm so proud of you.
Jenna Fischer
Thank you. I almost wrote them on note cards and brought in three note cards, but I didn't want to infringe on your note card thing.
Angela Kinsey
First of all, I don't own note cards. I encourage you. I love it. Use it. I mean, Jenna, you don't own a list. I hate to break it to you. I might come in someday with a list. I think that's fantastic. What is your time code?
Jenna Fischer
Well, I was very excited. It's 11 minutes, 50 seconds, and it is the scene where Pam and Jim are walking to the kitchen. John is snapping his fingers like he's from west side Story. And we got tons of questions about these finger snaps, which I think is why I felt compelled to write down the time code. The question was, was this scripted or improvised? I remember it as being improvised, and I remember being so tickled by it because I'm a huge movie musical fan. And I asked Lee Eisenberg and he thinks it was also improvised. He does not remember writing that.
Angela Kinsey
I think it was improvised because it's just like John kind of playing around because earlier, earlier in the show, he had mentioned, oh, like a jet. And Michael, I think, thinks he's a jet. He's like, oh, you're a jet.
Jenna Fischer
That was the name of your actual gang.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. So I think John is just playing off of that reference.
Jenna Fischer
It was so fun. So then they go into the kitchen, and I have to say, this scene in the kitchen between Michael and Dwight when they face off might be one of my Favorite scenes from the entire second season of the Office in the kitchen. John and I almost started laughing about a million times. And if you notice, if you look at Mindy, she is constantly turning her back to the scene. And looking into the annex, I could.
Angela Kinsey
See you and John almost break. When I watched this, knowing you guys, I was like, oh, they were about to lose it.
Jenna Fischer
But seriously, watch Mindy through this because she cannot face the scene. It's amazing.
Angela Kinsey
Well, when rain, like, grabs her and is like, all right, now from behind, she's like, wait, what?
Jenna Fischer
Amazing.
Angela Kinsey
I don't know how she got through that.
Jenna Fischer
And there's all these great things in this. This is the misuse of common phrases like catch 22.
Angela Kinsey
Tit for tit.
Jenna Fischer
That's your favorite.
Angela Kinsey
My favorite. This is the second time he has said it.
Jenna Fischer
Tit for tit. Also, two hits. Me punching you and you hitting the floor. So good. It was just so good. This leads me into my second time code Angela.
Angela Kinsey
Okay.
Jenna Fischer
13 minutes, 27 seconds.
Angela Kinsey
Well, I have one at 13:25.
Jenna Fischer
All right, what's yours? Let's see.
Angela Kinsey
Well, this is. At 13:25, you see who actually goes to the dojo, because you see everyone pile into the elevator, and it is Phyllis, Pam, Meredith, Oscar, Creed, Kevin, Jim, Michael, and Dwight. And who does not go to the dojo. Angela, Stanley, Toby, Kelly, and Ryan.
Jenna Fischer
Is that true? So you did not go to. Did you not film that day when we had.
Angela Kinsey
I had the day off.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, my gosh.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, it was decadent. It was decadent.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, my goodness. So when I talk about being at the dojo, you're gonna hear what you missed out on?
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, I have no idea. And, you know, the thinking was that Angela and Stanley would not participate in this, that this is like shenanigans, and they are literally there to do work and clock in and clock out.
Jenna Fischer
Yes.
Angela Kinsey
And so Angela and Stanley are really two of the big bah humbugs of the office. Toby and Kelly wouldn't go, or Ryan, because as you know and I know, they were writers and they needed to be in the writers room, and this was an opportunity for them to get some work done.
Jenna Fischer
Yes. It's so true. Well, when we all pile in the elevator, I don't know why I'm so tickled by it, but at 13 minutes and 27 seconds, just watch Kevin's face as the elevator doors close.
Angela Kinsey
Okay.
Jenna Fischer
It just makes me laugh.
Angela Kinsey
All right.
Jenna Fischer
He's got this little mischievous look on his face, like he's very excited to see what's gonna Happen. Totally. Like a little kid who got to leave school.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, that's so cute.
Jenna Fischer
I love it. All right, well, Angela, I'm gonna tell you some stuff. The day that we shot at the dojo, it was really hot.
Angela Kinsey
I was gonna say, were you guys all hot and sweaty?
Jenna Fischer
Yes. And the air conditioning in our trailers wasn't working.
Angela Kinsey
Oh.
Jenna Fischer
So remember on the Dundees when they had ants? This time they had no air conditioning, and they were. They're metal. So it was kind of like changing your clothes in a sauna. And we were just super sweaty, all of us, and gross. And I had to wear a sweater.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
Because we had established my beige sweater earlier in the office. And I remember thinking, oh, my God, I am so sweaty and stinky, and John has to pick me up. This is a thing that I think people don't think about. You know, anytime I would have a scene where I would have to whisper at someone or you'd have to kiss, I would brush my teeth, like, three times and chew gum and eat a mint before. And anytime when you have to be close to someone, I would be very aware of my potential body odor.
Angela Kinsey
At least our show wasn't a show with a bunch of close talkers. Because, like, you watch an episode of, like, the Sopranos, they get in each other's faces. They're like, listen here. And they're, like, right up to each other's face. Like, at least we didn't have that.
Jenna Fischer
That's true.
Angela Kinsey
But when I watch those scenes, because we're actors and we know, I think, like, oh, my God, there's no way they don't know what they had for lunch, because that is some close talking.
Jenna Fischer
Well, when Jim lifted Pam up at.
Angela Kinsey
The dojo at 14 minutes, 11 seconds.
Jenna Fischer
We got a lot of questions about this scene.
Angela Kinsey
I have questions. So go.
Jenna Fischer
Well, in Office Olympics, Angela has her bit about Pam Pong.
Angela Kinsey
Yes.
Jenna Fischer
And that's kind of the first time that Pam is made aware that someone else is aware.
Angela Kinsey
People are noticing.
Jenna Fischer
Yes. And now in this scene, Meredith clocks the interaction between Pam and Jim, and that is what freaks out Pam.
Angela Kinsey
Also, your shirt came up, and you could see your belly. Now, I remember as your friend that week, you saying to me, oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh, people are gonna see my belly. Cause it said, you know, it picks up and your shirt kind of comes up, and you were nervous about it.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah, that was all that was. So that was a fan question Anthony asked. Was it meant for your shirt to pull up when Jim lifted you, or did it Happen on accident. And you went with it. It was in the script that my shirt would come up a little bit. And that was all to make it even more of a vulnerable thing for Pam that she was literally exposed.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. Something that you were really embarrassed about.
Jenna Fischer
Yes. And wow, I wish my stomach looked like that today. I watched that scene. I was like, why was I not wearing midriff tops every day when I looked like that?
Angela Kinsey
I know. I knew you were gonna say that because, I mean, listen, we've had babies and everything changes after that. And you're. I mean, you look phenomenal today, Jenna. You look phenomenal then. But I know. I remember our bellies before babies. I remember.
Jenna Fischer
Well, I am kind of glad that it was scripted that you see my belly because I've got it on film now that at one time in my life I had a cute little belly and belly button. So thank you, Jean and Lee, for that. At 13 minutes, 56 seconds, that's my third time. Code Angela. There is a poster in the background of this interaction between Jim and Pam. So we're all watching Jim and Pam, but in the background there is a poster on the wall. And it is one of my favorite things. It was like a favorite thing of all of us when we got to the dojo. This was a set decoration poster that Jean and Lee wrote that set decoration had printed and put on the wall. It is the 10 rules of karate.
Angela Kinsey
Okay.
Jenna Fischer
All right. According to this dojo. And I'm going to read them to you, okay? They're amazing. Number one, obey your parents.
Angela Kinsey
Okay.
Jenna Fischer
Number two, no junk food. Number three, do your homework. Number four, keep your room clean. Number five, maintain an indomitable spirit. Number six, don't fight with your siblings. Seven, practice, practice, practice. Eight, treat others the way you would like to be treated. Nine, be loyal to your country. And 10, have fun. So Lee told me he still has this poster. He asked to have it. He said they spent way too long writing these books.
Angela Kinsey
I bet. I bet they spent like hours, like, just. They did like cracking themselves up.
Jenna Fischer
It's amazing to me because I feel like it is this little detail that really hammers home that Dwight takes classes in a studio meant for children.
Angela Kinsey
Children, do your homework.
Jenna Fischer
These are kid based rules.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
And of course you see that, you see that he's in a class with a bunch of 11 year olds. But I just think that is brilliant, brilliant writing that poster.
Angela Kinsey
Okay, so that was their version of the rules of. Right. There's this thread on Reddit where people go back and forth they were like. But Dwight says karate, and then there's Taekwondo, this, and there's this and this. So a little bit that the martial arts didn't quite line up in that dojo.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah, I think that makes sense too. I mean, Dwight is not maybe studying a pure form of any one martial art.
Angela Kinsey
Right. I have to talk about the fact that at 14 minutes, 11 seconds, I think that Pam is sending Jim mix signals.
Jenna Fischer
Of course she is.
Angela Kinsey
And I totally judged her a little bit.
Jenna Fischer
I know.
Angela Kinsey
Because she was being really flirty. And then when Meredith noticed. It wasn't until Meredith noticed that, then she, like, pushed him away. And then the look on John's face. He does such a fantastic job of looking wounded and confused and not really. He was so happy. But now he's like, now what happened? He did such a great job because Pam is sending him mixed signals.
Jenna Fischer
She really is. But, I mean, that's. That's complicated, unrequited love for you.
Angela Kinsey
I know.
Jenna Fischer
What are you gonna do? She's conflicted.
Angela Kinsey
She's conflicted.
Jenna Fischer
When Michael pins down Dwight at the dojo and is winning the fight, our director of photography, Randall Einhorn, who used to work on Survivor, So I want to say literally nothing surprises this man. He is a total pro. He never broke. He lost it. He lost it. He was laughing so hard that he had to take the camera off his shoulder and hold it out with his arm so that it wouldn't shake. He had tears, like, streaming down his face.
Angela Kinsey
Now, I.
Jenna Fischer
It's the hardest I've ever seen him laugh.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. That's saying something because he was like a statue. Him and Oscar Nunez never break.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
I have a question for you. Lance, when I was speaking to him, said to his knowledge, the fight was not choreographed and that he really believed that the stuff that Michael, that Steve was doing to reign as Dwight, like, holding him down and trying to spit on him and all of that. That. That Steve improvised, that I asked Lee about that.
Jenna Fischer
His memory is that they did bring in a stunt coordinator to work with them on set one day during a break.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. So Lance wouldn't have been there for that.
Jenna Fischer
That's right. And so.
Angela Kinsey
But that person did not go to the dojo.
Jenna Fischer
Did not go to the dojo.
Angela Kinsey
The day that you actually did it. They were not present.
Jenna Fischer
And so on the day, he said they just. Like Steven Rain and Ken Kwapus just with a bunch of stuff, like the typewriter stuff. And just. He said he doesn't remember how many takes they did, but it was a lot. But he said it was also really hot. And those guys got really tired doing all the fake fighting.
Angela Kinsey
You can tell because they're winded when they're speaking to each other.
Jenna Fischer
They are. It's true. Did you clock Phyllis's disposable camera in the scene where she's taking pictures and it's a disposable camera?
Angela Kinsey
Would you wish we had those pictures? Who has those?
Jenna Fischer
Someone must.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
Phil Shea.
Angela Kinsey
Phil Shea.
Jenna Fischer
I don't know. All right, so after this humiliating defeat, we go back to the office and we see a scene from Michael's office that goes down into the parking lot and he tries to call Ryan on his cell phone. That was a different office than the usual Michael's office.
Angela Kinsey
You totally like. It's completely different.
Jenna Fischer
Yes. So we had two Michael's offices. We had one Michael's office that was on our set, and it had just like a scrim backdrop behind the window that was kind of blurry, and it was just like old fashioned fake out the window kind of thing. Yes. But whenever we had to shoot a scene where Michael was actually looking out of his window into the parking lot, we would move over to the writer's offices.
Angela Kinsey
And they literally would shoot in a writer's office.
Jenna Fischer
Yes. And I was trying to remember, was it Mike Scher's office or Paul Lieberstein's office? They. One of the two of them worked in Michael's office, and it was loosely decorated as Michael's office. And then when it was time to shoot, they would get kicked out of their office and set dressing would come in and zhuzh it up. And then they would have to use that to shoot. And they couldn't write in their office that day.
Angela Kinsey
But the walls are, like, kind of a green color.
Jenna Fischer
Yes. That was almost match.
Angela Kinsey
That don't match. Like, I was like, guys, the walls are not the same.
Jenna Fischer
Well, it's funny, too, because all the other writers could decorate their offices.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, Mindy's office was so decorated.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, for sure. Of course. Yeah, of course. But you could have, like, personal photos up and posters on the wall, but they couldn't do it.
Angela Kinsey
I feel like it was Paul's.
Jenna Fischer
I think it was Paul's as well. That's my memory.
Angela Kinsey
If it wasn't Paul's, then Paul just really didn't make a lot of effort to decorate one of the two. I remember his office being pretty bare.
Jenna Fischer
So next up, Michael tells the rest of us to sign the forms he's given up.
Angela Kinsey
For sure. At the end of the show, the people who Actually, sign the reports are Toby, Stanley, Angela and Pam.
Jenna Fischer
And we were all grouped together at the reception desk. And I loved shooting that scene. Cause everyone else had gone home for the day.
Angela Kinsey
Except for Dwight.
Jenna Fischer
That's right.
Angela Kinsey
Who was at his desk.
Jenna Fischer
But most of the office was gone. And that group of us, we were very rarely in little scenes together, just usually. And I have very fond memories of shooting that.
Angela Kinsey
Me too. Me too.
Jenna Fischer
That was really, really fun.
Angela Kinsey
I have one thing that is a time code that was right before the end there. At 17 minutes, 57 seconds, people are packing up for the day. Guess who's sitting across from Meredith?
Jenna Fischer
Who?
Angela Kinsey
Ryan.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah, that was his desk.
Angela Kinsey
But where was Creed?
Jenna Fischer
Creed didn't really have a desk yet. I don't know.
Angela Kinsey
When does Creed take over Ryan's desk? And when does Ryan move back to the annex?
Jenna Fischer
These are good questions.
Angela Kinsey
I know.
Jenna Fischer
Did Ryan? Well, eventually. Remember we turned that closet in the hallway into Ryan's office?
Angela Kinsey
I feel like, yeah, for a little.
Jenna Fischer
Bit, that desk was kind of the catch. All right. I feel like I've seen Devin there, I've seen Ryan there, I've seen Creed there. When does it become Creed. Creed's desk?
Angela Kinsey
Also in this episode at the end when people are filing out, we see an appearance of Luann.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, there's Luann.
Angela Kinsey
Luann.
Jenna Fischer
Luann was one of our stand ins.
Angela Kinsey
Extras who would normally sit in the annex. And people always say, who is that? So Luann walks by.
Jenna Fischer
That's right. I feel like the two things I want to tell you guys we're going to be dedicated to tracking in this rewatch is Mindy's hair. And when does Creed get his desk? Okay, so just know that someone out.
Angela Kinsey
There probably already knows. They're going to write in and say, you guys. Creed sits there in episode. Tell us, tell us.
Jenna Fischer
Solve this mystery. Okay. Michael takes Dwight into the conference room here at the end, and he says he's been testing him all day. And he promotes Dwight to assistant regional manager.
Angela Kinsey
Right.
Jenna Fischer
He gets no announcement, no raise, and no new office. But Dwight is so happy. He's so happy, he whites out to the on all of his business cards. It's so pure and sweet.
Angela Kinsey
I know. It's so sweet. Although Michael's like, it's not really a real thing, but it doesn't really matter.
Jenna Fischer
Dwight isn't hearing Dwight that part. He doesn't hear any words except assistant regional manager. And then this leads us to the famous Michael talking headline. Would I rather be feared or loved? Easy. Both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me. I have seen that stitched on pillows. I have seen that on shirts. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me. Good writers, such good writing.
Angela Kinsey
And that was the fight.
Jenna Fischer
That was the fight. So next week we will be back with the Client.
Angela Kinsey
The Client.
Jenna Fischer
This is maybe my favorite Season 2 episode. Although there's also the injury. I love the injury part.
Angela Kinsey
You love the injury. Jenna, you wore a shirt that you've bought online of the injury.
Jenna Fischer
I bought a shirt from Etsy of a grilled foot.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. That you were wearing a. You would wear it a lot. It was like one of your favorite shirts. Jeez.
Jenna Fischer
Did it bother you?
Angela Kinsey
It did.
Jenna Fischer
Did I wear it too often?
Angela Kinsey
No, it didn't. But it just made me laugh. There was a day that you showed up in your shirt with the grilled foot and I had a shirt that was like an inside joke on our show of Creed as an action figure in Hong Kong.
Jenna Fischer
Uh huh.
Angela Kinsey
And we both did.
Jenna Fischer
We realized we were maybe too big a fan.
Angela Kinsey
We were like, shouldn't we. What are we doing? We're just walking around in shirts from our show.
Jenna Fischer
So next week we will be talking about not the injury, but the client.
Angela Kinsey
We'll see you then.
Jenna Fischer
See you then. Thank you for listening to Office Ladies 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 and associate producer is Daniela Silva.
Jenna Fischer
Odyssey's executive producers are Jenna Wise Berman and Leah Rhys Dennis.
Angela Kinsey
Office Ladies is mixed and mastered by Chris Basel.
Jenna Fischer
Our theme song is Rubber Tree by Creed Bratton.
Office Ladies Podcast Summary: Season 2, Episode “Second Drink: The Fight”
Release Date: January 20, 2025
Hosts: Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey
Podcast Title: Office Ladies
Episode Title: Second Drink: The Fight
Introduction
In the "Second Drink: The Fight" episode of the Office Ladies podcast, hosts Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey dive deep into Season 2, Episode 6 of The Office, titled “The Fight.” This episode offers an engaging retrospective as the two co-stars revisit memorable moments, share behind-the-scenes anecdotes, and provide insightful commentary on key scenes from the beloved sitcom.
Episode Breakdown
The Fight centers around Michael Scott and Dwight Schrute engaging in a martial arts duel prompted by a prank orchestrated by Jim Halpert and Pam Beesly. As tensions escalate, the episode weaves humor with character development, highlighting the dynamics between the office staff.
Key Highlights and Discussions
Introduction to the Episode:
Behind-the-Scenes Insights:
Fan Engagement and Stories:
Fast Facts Segment:
Character Dynamics and Development:
Iconic Scenes and Quotes:
Production Challenges:
Set Design and Continuity:
Notable Quotes with Timestamps
Insights and Conclusions
Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey provide a comprehensive and heartfelt analysis of “The Fight,” illustrating how this episode encapsulates the essence of The Office through its blend of humor, character interplay, and relatable office dynamics. Their shared experiences and behind-the-scenes stories enrich the listener’s understanding and appreciation of the episode, making it accessible and engaging even for those who may not be familiar with the show.
The hosts emphasize the importance of authenticity in acting, as seen in Lance Krall’s portrayal of Sensei Ira, and discuss how improvisation and genuine interactions contribute to the show’s lasting appeal. Additionally, the exploration of character relationships, such as Jim and Pam’s subtle flirtations and Michael’s management style, offers deeper insights into the show's narrative strength.
Looking Forward
Jenna and Angela tease future episodes, announcing their upcoming discussion on Kevin Malone with special guest Brian Baumgartner. They also highlight their dedication to addressing fan questions and mysteries from the show, encouraging listeners to engage and contribute to their ongoing rewatch journey.
Conclusion
“Second Drink: The Fight” serves as a testament to the enduring legacy of The Office, offering fans and newcomers alike a detailed exploration of one of its memorable episodes. Through their engaging dialogue, detailed breakdowns, and personal anecdotes, Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey celebrate the humor and heart that make The Office a timeless classic.
Disclaimer: All quotes are attributed with accurate timestamps based on the provided transcript.