EP. 185 — Angry Andy with Claire Scanlon

Jenna [00:00:03] I’m Jenna Fischer. 

 

Angela [00:00:04] And I’m Angela Kinsey. 

 

Jenna [00:00:05] We were on The Office together. 

 

Angela [00:00:08] And we’re best friends. 

 

Jenna [00:00:08] And now we’re doing the ultimate Office rewatch podcast just for you. 

 

Angela [00:00:12] 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 [00:00:19] We’re the office ladies. Hello! 

 

Angela [00:00:25] Hi there!  

 

Jenna [00:00:26] Today we’re going to talk about Angry Andy. 

 

Angela [00:00:28] He’s very angry. 

 

Jenna [00:00:30] He’s very angry. This is season eight episode 21. It was written by Justin Spitzer and directed by Claire Scanlon. Would you like a summary? 

 

Angela [00:00:39] Would I ever? 

 

Jenna [00:00:41] Well, now that he’s back in Scranton, Andy struggles to regain his job, his office, and his manhood… Because Nellie stole his office, stole the manager position. 

 

Angela [00:00:51] And I guess maybe his ability to perform in other places. 

 

Jenna [00:00:55] Yeah, she’s really stolen all of his performance opportunities. Meanwhile, Ryan tries to win Kelly back after seeing her move on with Pam and Jim’s handsome pediatrician, Ravi, who is very handsome, by the way. 

 

Angela [00:01:09] I mean, dapper. 

 

Jenna [00:01:10] Well, everyone, we had a new director for this episode. It was Claire Scanlon who joined the Office family in season five as an editor. She directed two episodes of the show, including this one. Angry Andy was her directorial debut, and she now directs all the time. She has been teamed up with lots of office alums. She’s directed episodes of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Never Have I Ever, Abbott Elementary, as well as Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Blackish and Fresh Off the Boat, Angela. Our new crossover connection. And guess what, everyone? I’m telling you all of this not just because we love Claire, but because she’s sitting here right now with us! 

 

Angela [00:01:50] Yay! 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:01:50] Oh, my God. Such enthusiasm. Can you wake up with me every morning and get me ready for the day? I mean.

 

Angela [00:01:57] Yeah. I’ll just send Jenna over with like your life summary as you pour coffee. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:02:01] I love this. 

 

Jenna [00:02:02] We’re so excited you’re here! 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:02:04] I’m really, really honored to be here. My goodness. What you guys have created is so phenomenal. Everyone’s always talking to me about this podcast. 

 

Angela [00:02:11] Really? 

 

Jenna [00:02:11] They are? 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:02:12] Always. Absolutely. And when I’m on a set, people I work with, like everyone in comedy. I mean, and then of course, fans are obsessed with it. So as you already know. But yeah, no. And you guys were like on the cutting edge of doing podcasts. Like, it’s huge. 

 

Angela [00:02:26] Will you come to my house in the morning? 

 

Jenna [00:02:28] I know! That’s what I was gonna say! Claire, come wake me up!

 

Angela [00:02:33] Aww. Okay. Claire, we have lots of questions for you. I know fans are going to be so excited. You have such a unique perspective on the show. I was cracking up because before you came here today, you sent us some pictures. You sent a picture- Claire and I have known each other a very long time. Claire, how long have we known each other? I mean, older than some people listening. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:02:54] I would say at least 20 years, if not 25. I think it was our mid twenties when you were doing Groundlings. 

 

Angela [00:03:01] Yes! Oh, well, that was twenty- yeah, that was a long time ago. Claire sent a picture and I have this picture somewhere too, a little slightly different angle, because I think a few people were taking it. I’m in full Western wear. I have a Western shirt, a cowboy hat. We are sitting at a bar and we are doing tequila shots. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:03:22] Yeah, that’s accurate. 

 

Angela [00:03:23] Is it my birthday? 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:03:25] No. 

 

Angela [00:03:26] I can’t remember why we were doing that. 

 

Jenna [00:03:28] Why were you dressed that way? Also, was that how you dressed in back in 25 years ago? 

 

Angela [00:03:35] I do remember one year for my birthday, I wore, like, my dad’s cowboy hat. I guess I really was fond of it. I went through a phase. It was the 90s. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:03:44] Yeah. I mean, I feel like that phase works for Taylor Swift today, so… 

 

Angela [00:03:47] Thank you! Okay, Swifies.  

 

Claire Scanlon [00:03:49] You were onto something. You’re on the cutting edge of everything. 

 

Angela [00:03:52] I do remember Claire, though, of all of our friends, you’re one of us that had their (BLEEP) together. You had, like, really good jobs, and you were very responsible. You weren’t showing up doing tequila shots in a cowboy hat. And I remember you were working on a lot of documentaries back then. You were editing. I remember going to a screening of one and being like, Oh my gosh, she’s like the real deal. So we always ask our guest, how did they get their job on The Office? And can you tell us how you ended up working on the show and how you came to direct this episode? 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:04:26] Absolutely. I went to grad school at USC and my very last class was editing. I learned Avid and my TA said, I don’t want to be an assistant editor. Does anyone want my job? I want to go into cinematography. And I said, I want a job out of grad school to start paying my student loans. And-

 

Angela [00:04:43] Of course, because this is who I remember you were. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:04:46] Yeah. And I was like, I will take that job. And I worked with this wonderful editor named Arnold Glassman on a project called Frank Capra’s American Dream. 

 

Angela [00:04:54] Yes. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:04:54] That was really my first job ever in this industry. And it was the first high def documentary ever. Like, high definition television didn’t exist. This was like 1997. So this was one of their first projects ever. But I also worked on a lot of heavy news subject material, like Dying to Tell the Story, which is about Dan Eldon, who was stoned to death in Somalia. Soldiers of Peace, about these kids who are nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for trying to get people in Colombia to vote. And then I just kind of veered on to more, not intentionally, I so I just liked working. I liked working with Arnold Glassman. And I also just liked editing. I worked a lot with a woman named Kira Thompson. She was amazing. And it led to me doing a couple of documentaries about celebrities that were known for comedy. Carol Burnett, a Woman of Character, Bob Newhart, Unbuttoned, Cary Grant A Class Apart. These were all American masters, and I really enjoyed watching the canon of their work. So without even realizing what I was doing, I was getting such an education, both in comedy and comedy editing. You know, and again, not meaning to. It wasn’t like calculated in any way. And then I was working on Last Comic Standing, and I was a supervising producer and supervising editor of that particular season. And I get a phone call from my friend Grady Cooper, and he said, Hey, I hear that there’s this new spinoff of The Office. Can you put my name in the hat? Because I know you’re friendly with Paul Lieberstein. And the same way I know Angela, I know Warren, I know Paul. We all just, like, hung around in our twenties, just whenever someone wasn’t working, it was like, Want to play tennis? Like, it was really casual in our twenties. So I say, Oh yeah, sure, I’d be happy to. And so I called Paul and I said, My friend wants to put his name in the hat to edit. And he said, Well, what about you? And I said, Oh. 

 

Angela [00:06:45] Ah. That’s so great. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:06:46] And there were 30 people up for the replacement for Dean Holland. Dean Holland went on to become the supervising producer and editor of Parks and Rec, and he left a whole that I was very happy to fill. I still remember my job interview. It was with Greg, Mike Schur, Paul Lieberstein and Jen Celotta. They were all in there and Greg was just like rapid fire questions. Luckily, I don’t think I was nearly as intimidated as I should have been, and I just didn’t have anything to lose because already I was never even considering this because I’d never edited narrative. I’d never ever. I’d only done documentary and sketch comedy. And this was not in my wheelhouse.  

 

Angela [00:07:28] Which Greg probably loved though. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:07:30] He loved that. He loved that I came with no baggage, he said. So I got the job. There was a little bit of like, Oh, let’s see if it goes all right. And I guess it did, because at the end of season five, three of the three editors on The Office were nominated for Emmys that year. So everyone did well.  And then Dave Rogers and I continued and edited all the way through the end of the- so I was there for about five years. I started on season five and went through nine. 

 

Jenna [00:07:54] Well, I just remember how seamlessly you fell into the fabric of the Office family. Like just your personality, your take on things. It was an immediate fit. Like whatever you brought to that interview, it was clear probably to them and then immediately clear to the rest of us that you were like, Oh yeah, of course it’s her. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:08:18] It was wonderful to be there. I mean, it was a very atypical situation. I mean, I’m sure there’s other situations like that, but to be all under one roof, to sit and eat lunch together, to have such pleasant working hours, cross coverage that led to so many great comedic moments, the electricity on the set. Like I remember whenever something cool was happening, we would just be they’re doing something cool! Let’s go! Run! And we’d run across the parking lot and go see something fricking cool. Like there’s a porcupine in a drawer! Run! Rainn’s got a, like, so everyone just wanted to be part of the cool, fun thing. Like- 

 

Jenna [00:08:50] Totally. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:08:51] I just want to watch it. We were like- 

 

Angela [00:08:52] That was the spirit of the show. It really was. What’s fun? Let’s be a part of it. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:08:54] Like kids at school. If someone was doing something cool in the art room. 

 

Angela [00:08:58] Yeah. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:08:58] You know, it was really special. And I’ve been chasing that ever since, you know? 

 

Jenna [00:09:02] Same. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:09:03] It’s. 

 

Angela [00:09:03] Yeah, same. 

 

Jenna [00:09:05] How did you come to direct this episode? Had you said, You know what, I’d be really interested in directing an episode. Or did someone come to you? 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:09:12] I think that both Dean Holland and Dave Rogers led the way for editors directing on this show. And I think it was a combination of those two gentlemen having paved the way and Greg’s esteem for editors. Like he really is special. And I think that also has showrunners really do appreciate the editors, like a strong editor is someone you really are happy to have, because ultimately it means less work for the showrunner and less hours in a dark room. So because they had done that, it was season eight and I think there were some open slots and I thought I’d just give it a go. And then I went to Paul and Greg. 

 

Jenna [00:09:52] Okay, So now you mentioned that you edited your own episode. I was a little surprised. I wondered like if you would prefer it. Do you prefer editing you directing? 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:10:06] So it’s a very specific question for editing Angry Andy and whether I wanted to edit that versus today. 

 

Jenna [00:10:12] Okay. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:10:12] So I absolutely wanted to edit Angry Andy in case I messed up. No one would know. I could fix it. 

 

Jenna [00:10:20] You could cover it in editing. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:10:22] No one would know. Like, oh did she not get that other- I’m going to just razzle dazzle you with something and you’ll never know I didn’t get that coverage or I didn’t get that shot that any more seasoned director might have gotten. So I was very, very- I think I must have come in over the weekend so no one could even see me working on it. Like today I really don’t think it’s a good idea. And I know Steven Soderbergh does it, so hats off to him and the Coen Brothers. I think especially in comedy, you can get a bit myopic and have sat love. And I’m sure every actor feels this way too. If something was hilarious, you know it hit, the crew was laughing. It took forever to set up the shot. It all worked beautifully. And you just felt this kind of jubilation… That isn’t there when you watch it in the Avid on the television monitor. It’s just not there. And you have an editor be like, Yeah, I don’t care how long it took you to set up this shot. It’s not good. It’s not funny. I didn’t laugh and I don’t care. And you don’t need it to push the story forward. And I like having that person that doesn’t have, you know… 

 

Angela [00:11:15] Attachment to it. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:11:17] Attachment to it the way you might. The whole industry is a very collaborative one. And I think that what was great about The Office is that everyone was firing on all cylinders and listening to everyone else. 

 

Angela [00:11:27] I think that’s the key is listening, because you can have a lot of creative people, but if they don’t listen to one another, it’s going to be a trainwreck. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:11:34] Absolutely. And not only were they listening, they were encouraging. Like everyone was friendly here. And it wasn’t scary in any way, shape or form. And that’s the set I walked onto. And you know, Matt Sohn came in the weekend before to help me prep. That’s the director of photography who also directed himself. Jen Celotta gave me this wonderful document. 

 

Angela [00:11:53] Okay, you shared this document with us and our listeners know Jen Celotta. She’s been on the show. We love her dearly. Will you share some of the advice that she gave you? 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:12:04] Sure. I have to open up my computer. 

 

Angela [00:12:05] You still have it. 

 

Jenna [00:12:06] You said you have it saved on your desktop. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:12:09] It is. I mean, you can actually see it’s on my desktop. It literally says, Jen’s great advice. And it kind of gives you an idea of the environment. First time directors don’t get this. Like first time directors don’t get like on a TV sitcom, don’t get time with the DP over the weekend. Like, DP’s are exhausted. Matt had kids. 

 

Angela [00:12:27] Yeah, this was the I feel like the creative collaboration that we always talk about. Everyone wanted each other to succeed. 

 

Jenna [00:12:33] Totally. 

 

Angela [00:12:34] All right. So here are Jen Celotta’s advice tips for you for directing. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:12:39] And by the way, these are great for anybody. Number one: try to sleep beforehand, but absolutely do not worry if you can’t. Your adrenaline will kick in and take care of you. I swear. I can see her saying I swear. 

 

Angela [00:12:51] Me too. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:12:52] Two: be prepared as possible. Figure out what you want to do and then be okay throwing it all away. Both things really help me planning and the ability to adapt to better stuff that comes along and just the vibe of being open to new stuff is good on stage. I still do that to this very day. 

 

Jenna [00:13:07] That’s a great parenting advice too. 

 

Angela [00:13:09] Think a lot of these are- 

 

Jenna [00:13:11] That’s how I prep for my weekend. 

 

Angela [00:13:12] I feel like a lot of these are going to apply to different facets of life. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:13:16] Three: Directing, like everything, has a learning curve. Somehow people think that with directors, they’re just supposed to walk in on the first day and have all the answers. Don’t worry if you don’t. Four: for me, reading the chapter in Shot by Shot was helpful about the line. She’s talking about the- 

 

Both [00:13:31] Yeah, don’t cross the line. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:13:33] And that’s just kind of how you set up shots and where you put the camera in relationship to the actor. She’s like, But I can’t imagine you need to do that. But it was really helpful for me. Editors have a pretty good idea about the line. It looks really wonky if you cross the line in something that you’re editing. So I think inherently you just kind of know where that line is. 

 

Angela [00:13:50] Yeah, I still don’t think I understand don’t cross the line. It’s like when you watch soccer and someone is offsides, I’ll never get it. I’ve let it go. 

 

Jenna [00:13:59] Same. 

 

Angela [00:13:59] But it’s okay because we have amazing people like you on set. 

 

Jenna [00:14:04] Yeah. Don’t cross the line doesn’t mean don’t do something inappropriate. Cross the line is jargon in the industry about… 

 

Angela [00:14:12] How a shot is set up. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:14:13] Where the camera is placed. 

 

Angela [00:14:13] Where the camera is. Yeah.

 

Claire Scanlon [00:14:15] Number five: I do shots on those set blueprints. I think she’s referring to overheads, which is basically like the schematics. Like when you’re doing your house and somebody mocks up, the architect, draws a plan of your house. It looks like a bird’s eye view of your house. We have those. They’re overheads. But Matt Sohn recommended little dolls so I could place them and think about shots. So she took little dolls and she just kind of put them on the overhead shots. 

 

Angela [00:14:40] Like at front reception or over in accounting, so you could see it. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:14:43] So you could see where Angela would be. And when she walked over to the jellybeans, you know, like, or better yet, where Brian would be. Number six: I tried to get a wide shot of most scenes. Some directors forget that, as you know, and it helped a few times. But then again, you know what you need. I didn’t. I didn’t necessarily know what I needed. And I always to this day don’t get wide shots or we also call them masters of the scene. Just you kind of know what the geography is like. Oh Pam is that reception. Angela’s back there. You know, someone’s walking out of the kitchen. You know, just kind of the geography so that when you go in tighter, you don’t get surprised if you hear Oscar shouting and you didn’t see him before. I didn’t know Oscar was there. As a viewer, you just kind of want to know who’s in the room. Number seven: This is very true. The actors like to do a few takes in a row, so try to get ahead of schedule. And when I could, like not shooting a tiny nothing scene a million times, could help me make up time and have time for when the actors were pushing back and wanting to do more uninterrupted. It was so special on The Office that we could do a couple in a row. 

 

Jenna [00:15:41] If you watch some of the bloopers, especially with John Krasinski and Rainn Wilson, they’ll make each other laugh and they would have this unspoken language and like acknowledgment where John would make Rainn laugh and then they would just start over again and they would just keep resetting themselves and doing it over and over again until they got it right. With no interference from the director at all. And it’s really interesting to watch. And it was almost like they needed to get out their giggles and then like on the seventh time they restarted, then they’d finally be able to finish the scene. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:16:15] It’s like a dance. 

 

Angela [00:16:16] I am really loving Jen’s list. 

 

Jenna [00:16:17] Same. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:16:18] I can jump to eight. Despite what anyone suggests, trust your instincts. You’re smart and not afraid to ask for help advice when you need it. This is Jen talking, not advice I got. Smiley face. And then she wrote, Nine: Oh, and some of the better episodes came when the directors made sure it all tracked, made sense. She was amazing and said, You’re going to be great. So excited for you. We must celebrate. Again, very friendly first day of work. I do remember thinking to myself when we broke for lunch, Okay, I can do this. I can do this week. I’ve got this. And I remember the volume of questions. And it’s not like they’re like all hard questions. It’s just the volume, the number. Red cup or blue cup? Blue pen, purple pen? Should so-and-so’s…. 

 

Angela [00:16:59] This is like when you’re the bride. Lace or linen? I don’t know! Just napkins. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:17:03] You can do it. And you know, what I’ve learned subsequently is just always have an answer. And then, you know, if you’re like, I don’t care if it’s a red cup or a blue cup- 

 

Angela [00:17:11] Have an answer. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:17:12] To the prop person, that’s their job. And it’s really important for them. They’ve taken a lot of thought and care into it. To have an answer is good. I’ll say red cup. And then I’ll go quietly calm my mind, think about it, and be like, No, the whole set is red. We need more blue in this shot. I don’t want it to, you know, seem like it’s an angry scene because it’s just the color red is too sharp. So then I go back and say I’ve changed my mind. I’d like blue. But the worst answer you can ever give is I don’t know, because that just makes you look like you’re not good at your job. 

 

Jenna [00:17:39] Oh, that’s interesting. So make a choice and then reflect on your choice. And if you need to change your mind, change your mind? 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:17:45] Yeah. It’s better to be decisive and it helps people see you as a leader. So at lunch, I was like, okay, I can do this. It’s a lot of questions and it’s it’s a lot of pressure. I could do this. Why would anyone want to do this? This is so intense. And then by the end of day one, I was like, I love this. I only want to do this. Like it was such a transition from halfway through the day. I don’t know. I think I just got used to it. 

 

Jenna [00:18:10] Yeah. Uh huh. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:18:10] But I remember there was a halfway mark was like, I’m going to do this. I’m gonna barrel through. I can do it. And then at the end something shifted and I loved it. 

 

Jenna [00:18:19] I have a question for you. A big portion of this episode plays out in the conference room, and I noticed that you set up the table with chairs around it instead of doing the rows. And I went and I looked at the script for Angry Andy, and it didn’t say. It just said, Everyone gathers in the conference room. Did you get to pick? Did somebody ask you the question, table or rows?

 

Claire Scanlon [00:18:42] They do ask the question. I chose the table because I wanted it to feel more claustrophobic in the room, that people were more stacked next to each other. That Erin felt a little bit more trapped. I also wanted it to make more sense that Andy doesn’t see impotence on the whiteboard and thinks it says importance when he walks in. It’s there’s not as much space because there’s this big table in the way. So it’s two people leading a conference. It’s more that people are all surrounded this table so that when people start talking about crazy stuff, like Phyllis’ two year long orgasm, or- and then when finally Erin’s like, Toby, is there something that you can do H.R. have anything to do…? And he’s like, My job is nothing. I have nothing. 

 

Angela [00:19:27] I can’t do anything.

 

Claire Scanlon [00:19:28] And you kind of feel like, you know, it’s very stacked. And her ex-boyfriend is two people down from her when he tells her, You said having sex was like two skeletons wrestling. So, which by the way, was adlibbed and made-

 

Jenna [00:19:45] I checked the script! 

 

Angela [00:19:46] I did too! It felt like a skeleton was tackling you. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:19:48] Yeah. 

 

Angela [00:19:48] I checked the script because I noticed Jenna that you and I broke. 

 

Jenna [00:19:52] I noticed that too. 

 

Angela [00:19:53] I actually cover my face, because Zach Woods is so good at improv. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:19:59] He’s incredible. 

 

Jenna [00:19:59] Incredible. So good. Which scene from this episode did you have to prep the most? 

 

Angela [00:20:05] Can I guess? Can we guess? What would you think? 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:20:07] Go for it. 

 

Jenna [00:20:08] The horse? Because it had a horse? 

 

Angela [00:20:10] Yeah. I was going to say the horse and all the-  

 

Jenna [00:20:13] Or the punch the wall?

 

Angela [00:20:14] Ohh. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:20:14] I’d say the punch to the wall because that required stunts, set dec and props as well as, you know, the glass. We had to make sure the glass wouldn’t go- it was breakaway glass. 

 

Jenna [00:20:22] Oh, on Nellie’s picture?

 

Claire Scanlon [00:20:24] On Nellie’s picture. We had to be really careful about because he really wanted to throw it down hard. So it was a lot of the technicalities of that and putting your, you know, your hand, making sure that Ed wouldn’t really actually hurt- and he’d done it before. So that was good. But like, he wouldn’t really hurt his hand. We did a couple of tests just, you know, with drywall squares just to make sure it was good. 

 

Angela [00:20:44] I’d be so afraid in the moment I would miss the spot and I’d break my hand or something. 

 

Jenna [00:20:49] Yeah. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:20:49] He was good. I think in relationship to where the nail was of Nellie’s portrait, he knew exactly to go just directly down. 

 

Angela [00:20:56] Jeez. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:20:57] So whereas the person that was the horse, whenever there’s animals on set, I feel like the animals are there for a while. That horse was really chill. A very slow, boring horse. You know, like it was really easy to manipulate that horse. I feel that the handler was great. One big element was that nobody that needed to act around the horse was scared of the horse. So.

 

Jenna [00:21:16] Yeah. You know, my dad works with horses and he said that they can sense your heartbeat. And so if you’re nervous, that makes them nervous. So that’s really good. It’s huge. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:21:28] Right. It’s a huge thing. And horses are just also they have such empathy. That’s why they do all of that great therapy work with horses. 

 

Jenna [00:21:34] That’s what my dad does with horses. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:21:37] That’s amazing. 

 

Jenna [00:21:37] Yeah, the horses do therapy work with autistic children. And he’s one of the horse handlers. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:21:42] That’s awesome. That’s an amazing job. How gratifying, because I’m sure he sees the difference. It’s like night and day. 

 

Jenna [00:21:48] Yeah. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:21:48] And horses are so smart. 

 

Jenna [00:21:50] So smart. 

 

Angela [00:21:50] So smart. 

 

Jenna [00:21:52] I noticed in the script that the throwing of the carmels was not scripted originally. Erin was just supposed to throw the pens and throw the messages, and then she throws those carmels. And I felt like when I was watching, the reason I went to the script was because I felt like Catherine Tate was legitimately surprised that she was having to dodge carmels. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:22:16] Yeah. I feel like everyone kept Catherine on her toes on that show. 

 

Jenna [00:22:20] Yeah. 

 

Angela [00:22:20] Yeah. Was there anything else you prepped special for Angry Andy? 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:22:25] When preparing to direct Angry Andy, it was the first time that we would be seeing Nellie as manager in that office space. And that office space for the manager is so iconic. And so when we- 

 

Jenna [00:22:37] And how it’s decorated. 

 

Angela [00:22:38] With her sofa and… 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:22:40] With her throw. And I wanted to make sure that we had enough time to establish the space but also keep things interesting with Andy. So a way in which to put the things in her office that set dec had deemed worthy of her. And we also went through that as well. But also making sure they were placed in such a way that it could organically be revealed with Andy and Nellie having their standoff of her saying, I’m not leaving. And then that’s where she says, Angela dock $100 from Andy’s- 

 

Angela [00:23:10] On it! 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:23:11] And crickets when Andy does the same, which is a wonderful payback for Angela to do to Andy. And so definitely wanting to make sure that you really felt her presence and how thoroughly ensconced she was into that new manager’s office. And those scenes were tight and you wanted it to feel like a high noon moment, like they’re against each other. And just making sure that in that small space, you still got that kind of awkward vibe of them facing off against each other. 

 

Jenna [00:23:37] I thought the office was decorated so well, and it was very clear immediately that all of Andy’s things had been wiped from the space and that it was a totally new space. So I thought that was great. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:23:50] Oh, cool. I’m glad it worked. 

 

Angela [00:23:51] Oh, it totally worked. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:23:52] Actually, in rewatching it, I was like, Oh, the office is different. And I was like, I see it.

 

Angela [00:23:56] You noticed that right away. 

 

Jenna [00:23:57] Yeah. 

 

Angela [00:23:58] Yeah. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:23:58] Yeah. 

 

Angela [00:23:58] We always ask everyone, when the show ended, did you take anything? Because we took lots of stuff. Okay, give it up, Claire. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:24:05] I got permission from Greg to take- and I feel now I need to pass it along because I feel like it’s such a good thing, but… 

 

Angela [00:24:12] What?! 

 

Jenna [00:24:13] What did you get? 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:24:14] I got the duckie that would ruin takes. 

 

Angela [00:24:17] Yes! 

 

Jenna [00:24:17] Oh my gosh! 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:24:18] I got the ducky. 

 

Angela [00:24:19] We’ve talked about this duck. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:24:21] I have the duck. I still have it. It’s on my bookcase. 

 

Jenna [00:24:23] I think you do deserve that. Either you or someone from sound deserves that duck. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:24:28] I felt like it ruined so many takes. 

 

[00:24:30] Because it probably made it hard for you to edit things. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:24:32] But Sarah Levy was in the office when John burst in looking for something. He hadn’t thought it through. Like, this is over. And he was like, What can I take? What can I take? 

 

Jenna [00:24:41] And he took the sign off the wall. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:24:43] He started to go for the ducky, and Sarah was like, Greg already promised that to Claire. So John- so now I feel a little bit like I’ve had my time with the ducky. My kids have actually played with the ducky. It still works. 

 

Jenna [00:24:56] It does? It still quacks? 

 

Angela [00:24:56] It’s so loud. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:24:57] It still works. 

 

Angela [00:24:58] Isabel would go hit it every time she was on set. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:25:00] Because it’s fun. 

 

Angela [00:25:01] It’s cute! 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:25:01] So many good bloopers with that ducky. 

 

Angela [00:25:04] Well, one of the questions we always end an interview with is, was there any favorite memory from your time on the show? Anything you would want to share with us? 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:25:13] I would say there’s too many, and I’m sure that so many people say the same answer, especially when you’re there day in and day out, you know, working there for such a long extended period of time. There’s just too many wonderful moments. It’s an impossible question, but my personal relationship to a scene and a moment would have to be Niagara. And the reason why, it had such fun and comedy in the walking down the aisle to the song that was such a moment in the YouTube history of people doing that and the comedy there, but intercutting it with the footage that Randall shot at Niagara Falls with Pam and Jim when they actually got married versus the one where everyone else thought they got married, intercutting that and finding that last shot where Jim is holding Pam and they’re looking out over the water and then he turns to the camera… That shot. It was like one of those (UNCLEAR) he knew to do it. You probably felt it. It was such a magical shot. And then getting to show you and John in my edit bay. You guys came in, just like we were talking earlier. Actors would just come in and be like- and you both wanted to see that scene cut. You know, it was your wedding scene. You wanted to see it. Like, show us. And being so nervous for you to see how I did it and then turning around and seeing you guys were both crying. 

 

Jenna [00:26:31] I remember that. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:26:32] It was great. And I was like,  and I knew it was that last shot. It was that last moment where he turns to the camera and he’s like, I did it. Like in his face. Oh, my God, it’s such a great moment. It’s perfect. 

 

Angela [00:26:44] It was a perfect moment. I mean the appreciation Jenna and I have now, in a I think in a deeper way for all the departments of the show that made it come together. But just really seeing how editors are such beautiful storytellers and you’re such a beautiful storyteller. I’m like, teary. Why am I teary? 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:27:04] Thank you. 

 

Angela [00:27:04] I don’t know. I’m just so appreciative that we all got to work together and that we’re still in touch and we get to talk about it. I get this way with every interview. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:27:12] I think all of us went through a lot of stuff in our personal lives during this show. And I can’t think of somewhere else I’d rather be during that time, like going through everything. I mean, I can’t tell you how supportive you guys were. Like, you two specifically telling me your own personal stories, not even just talking about work, just like in life to go through- everyone’s going to face obstacles in life, and to have everyone at your side, at your work, rooting for you and not having to worry about that part of it was just delightful and special. 

 

Angela [00:27:43] Amazing. Yeah. 

 

Jenna [00:27:44] Aw, Claire, thank you so much for coming. This was such a pleasure. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:27:48] This is so much fun. Congratulations on all your insane success, I mean. 

 

Jenna [00:27:53] And you too! 

 

Angela [00:27:54] I know! My gosh, Claire is a big old bad ass. Well, we’re going to hit you up for questions. 

 

Jenna [00:28:00] Yeah. 

 

Angela [00:28:00] In upcoming episodes. Is that alright?

 

Claire Scanlon [00:28:01] Sure. Yeah. 

 

Angela [00:28:02] Okay. Claire, this was an absolute joy seeing you again. My heart is so full. I just hung on your every word. Thank you so much for taking the time to be here with us today. 

 

Jenna [00:28:12] Yeah, it was amazing. I mean, we chatted for a long time before we even started this interview and I loved all of it. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:28:19] I’m so grateful to both of you. And I feel like I can’t leave without saying how welcome you made someone who was like a transfer student at The Office. Because I did come in so deep into the series. You know, I came in halfway through season five, so I never felt like I was, you know, less than or just like, you know, someone just, you know, riding everyone’s coattails. I always felt so included and in every way, shape or form. You had an evening where you two treated all the women on the crew out for drinks. 

 

Angela [00:28:49] Yeah. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:28:50] Do you remember that? 

 

Jenna [00:28:50] I do. I do, yeah. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:28:52] That’s never happened before or since. Like, that’s so special. 

 

Jenna [00:28:55] It was so fun. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:28:56] It was so fun. Like, I’m so glad. I wanted to mention that, you know, that’s so unique and special. Like, that just doesn’t happen. And everyone was so grateful for that. And it just to me, it’s not just that you did that gesture. It was emblematic of the tone that was set from day one and how it trickled on all on down to just such a good bon amie atmosphere on the entire show. So thank you. 

 

Angela [00:29:19] Aww. 

 

Jenna [00:29:20] Thanks, Claire. 

 

Angela [00:29:20] Thanks, Claire. 

 

Claire Scanlon [00:29:21] Thank you. 

 

Jenna [00:29:32] Well, we’re back from break back, from our delightful conversation with Claire, which is still lighting up my heart. 

 

Angela [00:29:39] Me, too. 

 

Jenna [00:29:40] And we’re ready to break down this episode. Phyllis is going to arrive to work. It is raining cats and dogs. And I’d like to point out that she has a purple rain coat. 

 

Angela [00:29:49] Yes. 

 

Jenna [00:29:50] The purple goes beyond her clothing, everyone. It’s into her coat. 

 

Angela [00:29:54] Multiple purple accents. 

 

Jenna [00:29:56] Mm hmm. 

 

Angela [00:29:57] Jim is going to say, whenever it rains, Phyllis uses the same 12 cliche phrases, and he’s promised to order hot chocolates for everyone if she says them all by noon. 

 

Jenna [00:30:07] We got a fan question from Gabriela G in Florida, who said, What are all 12 of Phyllis’s rainy day cliches? Jim holds them up on a list for a quick second, but it’s hard to see. And I would love to be able to get all of the quotes right so I can continue to mention them every time it rains. Well, Gabriela, I froze on the screen. And along with the help of DunderPedia, who also has the list, we can tell you. Here are Phyllis’ 12 phrases every time it rains. One: The plants are going to love this. Two: I sure don’t want to get stuck in this on the way home. Three: It’s raining cats and dogs. Four: The humidity is going to make my hair freak. Five: The roads are slickest in the first half of the day. Six: I actually sleep better in the rain. Seven: We’re paying for all the sun we got this summer. Eight: This weather just makes me want to stay home curled up with a good book. Nine: If we lived in Seattle, every day would be like this. Number ten: I wish we were allowed one rain check. Eleven: I love the smell after it rains. And 12: Nobody knows how to drive in the rain. Those were Phyllis’s 12 cliche statements. 

 

Angela [00:31:24] That’s a lot of ground for her to cover to say before noon. 

 

Jenna [00:31:27] Yeah! 

 

Angela [00:31:28] I was so tickled by this cold open and I was talking to Josh about it and he said, Ange, you are Phyllis. I was like, What are you talking about? He said, You always comment on the rain. Always. And he knew the exact one that I say that Phyllis says. Can you guess? 

 

Jenna [00:31:44] Oh, let me think. 

 

Angela [00:31:46] He said, I always say this. 

 

Jenna [00:31:49] The plants are going to love this? 

 

Angela [00:31:52] Yes! I always say, Oh, the plants are going to be so happy. That’s what I say. 

 

Jenna [00:31:56] You know, we got more fan mail from this cold open, a fan mail flurry, in fact. And it all happened at 24 seconds. It’s when Phyllis is standing at the water cooler at the very beginning. And I guess she’s filling her purple mug, by the way, with water. Here’s what people said: Not a question, but I need you ladies to see and acknowledge how Phyllis is holding her mug. It kills me every time and I can’t unsee it. Other people said, Why is Phyllis holding her mug like that? Does she hold her mug like that in real life? When you pause the scene, it looks like it’s not even her arm holding the mug. I didn’t notice it the first time I watched it. 

 

Angela [00:32:37] Do you have a picture? 

 

Jenna [00:32:38] I didn’t because I didn’t think it was all that strange. I don’t know. We can put a picture on the Office Ladies pod Instagram. She’s holding it normally, but a fan mail flurry, Angela. Like, tons of letters. This- I want to know, how is everybody else holding their mugs? 

 

Angela [00:32:55] I don’t know. I missed this moment. And now I want to go back and see it. I’ll put it in stories and I’ll do a poll. Is she holding it normal or not? 

 

Jenna [00:33:04] I agree. I’ll tell you what I did notice at 24 seconds was over Darryl’s shoulder you can see a plaque and it says, In appreciation of dedicated service for Mary Wall, executive assistant to Robert Dunder and Robert Mifflin. And it has a photo of Mary Wall, who was Greg Daniels’ assistant. 

 

Angela [00:33:24] Oh. That’s so great. Well, there is an extended producer’s cut for this episode. If you have the DVD, you will have noticed there are no deleted scenes, just this longer producer’s cut. And at the end of this cold open, Phyllis doesn’t say all of the rain cliches, so they don’t get hot chocolate, right? 

 

Jenna [00:33:43] Yeah. 

 

Angela [00:33:44] In the extend producer’s cut the scene goes on one more beat. And Jim decides to get hot chocolate just for Phyllis and him and announces that. Oh my gosh, Jenna, you as Pam, your reaction to this is so like, what?! 

 

Jenna [00:34:00] I didn’t remember that. And my reaction is Jenna is the same. What is that about?! 

 

Angela [00:34:06] That’s- you go- you look at him and you’re like, uh excuse me?! It’s like you’re so, like, ticked off. I laughed so hard. I rewound it because Pam’s expression in this moment just doesn’t seem like her at all. 

 

Jenna [00:34:21] Well, I have to say, I feel like it’s justified, this reaction. 

 

Angela [00:34:26] I want to put it in stories. It just made me laugh. I just cracked up. Clearly, Pam loves hot chocolate. That’s what I learned. 

 

Jenna [00:34:35] Well, also, what is that? Like, was Jim rooting against the rest of the office? And then him and Phyllis get hot chocolate, but everybody else doesn’t? I thought we were all in it together, Jim. 

 

Angela [00:34:46] Maybe that’s why it’s in the extended producer’s cut. And now the episode starts. Still no Nellie bobblehead in the opening credits. No Nellie little figure there. Andy and Erin return to the office. They’re singing their version of My Boyfriend’s Back. And I thought something was kind of suspicious. Andy says even though it’s the end of the day, they just wanted to stop by and say hello. Why is he in a full suit and tie? And they’re showing up at the end of the day. Why is Erin in tank tops and jeans? I don’t understand. 

 

Jenna [00:35:15] I wondered that, too. Did they just get back from their drive? 

 

Angela [00:35:19] And he ran and put on a suit just to come in and say hi? 

 

Jenna [00:35:23] That’s such a good point. 

 

Angela [00:35:24] I know. And then Andy says, Hey, Kev. And Kevin’s like, Yeah? And Andy says, Nice sweater. Because he’s wearing Andy’s Cornell sweater. Kevin says, Thank you. Nellie was nice enough to give it to me. She’s sweet. I just wish there was pockets. 

 

Jenna [00:35:39] Mm hmm. 

 

Angela [00:35:40] Lady? 

 

Jenna [00:35:40] Mm hmm. 

 

Angela [00:35:41] Kevin likes pockets. 

 

Jenna [00:35:43] Yeah, because you can put things in pockets when you have them. 

 

Angela [00:35:48] I was like, I guess now for the rest of my life, when I hear anyone celebrating pockets, I’m going to think of you. 

 

Jenna [00:35:53] I guess The New Yorker just did a big article about the size of women’s pockets, and everybody sent it to me. 

 

Angela [00:35:59] I saw that. I almost sent it to you. But I knew you were traveling. I was like, I’ll tell her when I see her. Well, this scene with Andy and Erin returning was actually longer. It really cracked me up because Andy is trying desperately to tell the office about this romantic gesture he made driving to Florida to win Erin over. But everyone keeps interrupting him. And it reminded me of when my husband and I are trying to tell our teenagers a story, but they get stuck on like some tiny detail and they get sidetracked. 

 

Jenna [00:36:28] Mm hmm. 

 

Angela [00:36:29] I want you to hear it. 

 

Andy [00:36:31] Crazy story. I drove all the way down to Florida. She was not expecting it. Totally swept her off her feet, right? 

 

Stanley [00:36:38] How long was the drive? 

 

Andy [00:36:39] It was like a day and a half each way. But when I got there, I went right up to the house, and I was like- 

 

Oscar [00:36:44] Day and a half? My lumbar would be killing me. 

 

Kevin [00:36:47] Oh, you should get this lumbar support cushion thing my dad has. 

 

Oscar [00:36:51] What’s it called? 

 

Kevin [00:36:52] Um not easy rest. 

 

Stanley [00:36:55] That gas must’ve cost a pretty penny, huh? 

 

Dwight [00:36:57] Well, he’s got a Prius. How many times you fill the tank? Three? Four? 

 

Angela Martin [00:37:00] What does gas cost down there? 

 

Kevin [00:37:02] Lumbar Buddy! 

 

Oscar [00:37:02] Lumbar Buddy. 

 

Dwight [00:37:02] Oh yeah, Lumbar Buddy. 

 

Andy [00:37:05] I’ll tell you what. I’ll email you the story. 

 

Jenna [00:37:12] Oh my gosh. 

 

Angela [00:37:13] See? I love those moments. They’re the small moments, but I just love them. 

 

Jenna [00:37:18]  Well, not only is Kevin wearing Andy’s Cornell sweater, he sees that Dwight has his fisherman statue Old Salty on his desk. And Dwight says, Oh, yeah. Nellie gave it to him. He turned it into a bobblehead. He’s done a bit of an X-Men fan fiction, and he calls it Captain Mutato. Half man, half mermaid. 

 

Angela [00:37:40] Yeah. So we learn Dwight writes fan fiction, and this made me very curious. Is there a lot of X-Men fan fiction out there? 

 

Jenna [00:37:47] Oh, sure. 

 

Angela [00:37:48] Oh, lady. 

 

Jenna [00:37:49] I don’t know why I know that. But yes. 

 

Angela [00:37:52] There is a lot. There are many sites. I found one called fan fiction dot net. And since I was on there looking at X-Men fan fiction, I thought, I wonder if this website has The Office fan fiction. 

 

Jenna [00:38:05] Well, lady, I know something about The Office fan fiction because it’s been sent to me. 

 

Angela [00:38:10] What? 

 

Jenna [00:38:10] There is a huge amount of Pam Ryan love story fan fiction. 

 

Angela [00:38:15] Yes! Okay. 

 

Jenna [00:38:18] It is? 

 

Angela [00:38:18] Yes. Okay. So on the fan fiction sites, there are several categories. And people can participate, I guess, in the different categories. Here are a few that made me chuckle. There was a category titled Ryan Slash Pam. Here’s the description of it. Here’s a collection for all the fans out there for this couple, Ryan slash Pam. Let me know if you know any other stories that end with this pairing. So the whole show plays out and Ryan and Pam end up together. 

 

Jenna [00:38:46] Yeah. B.J. and I have talked about this. It’s a very, very popular thread. 

 

Angela [00:38:51] It’s hilarious. 

 

Jenna [00:38:52] Which is funny because in this episode, Pam flat out tells Ryan, I have never liked you. 

 

Angela [00:38:57] I don’t think you’re a good person. 

 

Jenna [00:38:57] I feel like I’ve made that clear. 

 

Angela [00:39:00] She’s like, You’re not a good person. Here is another one I thought was cute. This category was titled Wicka Wicka Wicka What? It says, A collection of Michael slash Holly stories. Because even though Holly left Scranton, we’re not ready to let her go. 

 

Jenna [00:39:14] Awww. 

 

Angela [00:39:15] Then there was one called Monkey and D, a Dw’Angela community featuring everyone’s favorite secret couple from The Office. In the words of our Queen Angela, Office relationships are nobody’s business but the people involved. And lastly, this one really cracked me up. There was a category named Team Toby, the ultimate archive for fanfiction about or directly featuring Toby Flenderson. For everyone who stayed on the team despite Season Four’s little trip to, quote, fence leaping crazy town. Because who needs love more than everyone’s least favorite H.R. rep? 

 

Jenna [00:39:53] It’s so funny. I didn’t know about fanfiction until I started getting sent the Pam Ryan thing. And B.J. and I were talking about it. It’s I guess it’s like in the same way that you might have, like a historical fiction novel where you write something fictional, but based on history, they take the characters from The Office and then they write fiction about us. 

 

Angela [00:40:15] I mean, I didn’t read any of the actual pieces, but just the titles of the categories were cracking me up. 

 

Jenna [00:40:21] Well some of them can get very racy. 

 

Angela [00:40:24] Oh, I bet. 

 

Jenna [00:40:26] Mm hmm. Did I sound like your elderly aunt when I said that? They can get real racy. 

 

Angela [00:40:30] They can get very, you know, scandalous. Okay, so Andy’s going to enter his office, which is now Nellie’s office. We talked about that with Claire. And they’re going to start this high noon standoff. And he says, you know what? He would like his office back. And Nellie says, No. Well, lady, in the producer’s cut, there is a scene where Andy marches in and talks to Robert in the conference room. And this really cracks me up because Robert calls him out for just abruptly leaving for Florida without giving notice or explanation and then not answering his phone. He just was absent. 

 

Jenna [00:41:10] Mm hmm. 

 

Angela [00:41:11] So Robert confronts him, and Andy says, I had to tell Erin how I felt. And here’s the speech I love. Robert says, Andy, I appreciate your romantic quest. And in an age before the telephone or Internet or written language, that would be compelling. But there are five, six devices in this room alone that would have let you tell her that without going to Florida. We live in amazing times. 

 

Jenna [00:41:43] All of that was so funny to me. 

 

Angela [00:41:46] I laughed really hard. He was like, but in an age before the telephone. 

 

Jenna [00:41:52] Or the written word. 

 

Angela [00:41:53] I know. And then after the scene, Andy is pretty upset and Erin walks him out to the car and says, Don’t worry, we’re going to have a hot date tonight. So you can really see where Andy’s mind’s at, you know? He doesn’t have his head in the game here. And while all that’s going on, Pam and Jim are in the kitchen with Kelly and Ravi. 

 

Jenna [00:42:15] Yes! Ravi was played by Sendhil Ramamurthy. He was very famous for starring in all four seasons of the NBC sci fi drama Heroes. He was also in Heroes Reborn. A little fun fact about his role in Heroes, it was originally written for a 55 year old man, but his audition was so good that he ended up getting a screen test and then they rewrote the role for him. 

 

Angela [00:42:39] He was very good in Heros. 

 

Jenna [00:42:40] Yeah. 

 

Angela [00:42:41] Yeah. 

 

Jenna [00:42:42] He also recently starred in Mindy’s show Never Have I Ever. He was so handsome. 

 

Angela [00:42:47] He was very handsome. 

 

Jenna [00:42:48] Very, very handsome. And very, very good. And he really gets under Ryan’s skin. Ryan doesn’t like Ravi. He has to pop out of his closet, and he wants in on this conversation. 

 

Angela [00:43:01] Yes. 

 

Jenna [00:43:01] Ravi is Jim and Pam’s pediatrician. He’s giving Jim and Pam, you know, a little advice about, you know, cycling baby Phillip’s legs to help with gas. And Ryan wants you to know that you shouldn’t shake a baby. 

 

Angela [00:43:14] Right. 

 

Jenna [00:43:14] There are some great bloopers from this because Ryan popping out suddenly to tell Jim and Pam not to shake the baby, we did a lot of improving around this advice. There was one point when I think Jim said, Do you have a medical degree or something? And that just all made us laugh. But it’s very, very funny. 

 

Angela [00:43:35] Well, there’s a lot of Pam sass that happens here. 

 

Jenna [00:43:37] There is. Yeah. She’s like, Oh, don’t shake the baby? 

 

Angela [00:43:42] Thanks, Ryan. Thanks for the hot tip. 

 

Jenna [00:43:45] B.J. Novak said that the character of Ravi was brought in to give the character of Kelly a reason to quit Dunder Mifflin at the end of the season because she was leaving to do The Mindy Project. So that’s why we introduced the storyline of Kelly and Ravi. I also have a fan catch from this scene from Aiden W in Portland, Oregon, who said, When the camera cuts to Ryan in his closet, next to him over his shoulder is a jar of jumbo pretzels, but they are all broken. Who would buy it? Or did Phil Shea purposely break all the pretzels? It’s driving me crazy. 

 

Angela [00:44:26] That is such a specific detail. 

 

Jenna [00:44:28] Yeah. Once I saw it, I couldn’t unsee it, Angela. And I had a memory of why the pretzels are broken. And let me ask you if you have the same memory. 

 

Angela [00:44:37] Okay. 

 

Jenna [00:44:38] When we would stand in the kitchen for group scenes sometimes, the guys would open it up and break the pretzels. Do you remember this? Like, just as like something to cure boredom. I remember them doing this. I remember them breaking the pretzels! 

 

Angela [00:44:57] I mean, I, oh, my God. 

 

Jenna [00:44:59] Because we wouldn’t eat them. 

 

Angela [00:45:00] No, because they were sprayed with stuff like those cheese balls. We found that out. 

 

Jenna [00:45:04] Yes. It was like a weird sensory boredom thing. Do you remember this? I so remember it now. 

 

Angela [00:45:11] As you’re saying it, I’m like, I kind of remember them kind of mucking around. Oh, my gosh. Did they? That’s crazy. 

 

Jenna [00:45:17] Yes. We also got a fan catch from Dakota T in Tennessee who said, When we’re introduced to Ravi, played by Sendhil Ramamurthy, who also was in the show Heroes, I want to point out that in an earlier episode, The Negotiation I think, Dwight mentions Hiro Nakamura from Heroes, which means the show exists in Dwight’s life on The Office. Wouldn’t Dwight have also recognized Ravi from Heroes? 

 

Angela [00:45:45] I wish. I wish there was a moment where he walked by and did a double take. Like, hmm?

 

Jenna [00:45:50] Yeah. This was when we sort of gave up on the fact that people were well known for other shows. 

 

Angela [00:45:58] Ryan actually ends up going up to Jim and Pam because he wants more info on the situation, because it seems like this guy is really into Kelly. And Ryan would rather Kelly be alone than be with somebody. Even though they weren’t right together. And then he’s like, Is this love? 

 

Jenna [00:46:14] My God. 

 

Angela [00:46:14] Oh, my gosh. Pam’s look to Ryan. 

 

Jenna [00:46:16] Yeah. 

 

Angela [00:46:17] Well, now Robert and Andy are going to go into Nellie’s office. 

 

Jenna [00:46:21] Mm hmm. 

 

Angela [00:46:22] And Robert’s going to say, Listen, you know, you’ve been great, but Andy is the manager. And Nellie’s like, No. This throws Robert for a loop. He says he is not used to being told no. And then Nellie is very flirty with him, and she’s like, Get used to it because it’s going to feel so good when someone says yes, or something like that. 

 

Jenna [00:46:42] No. That’s what she says. 

 

Angela [00:46:43] She lays it on pretty thick. 

 

Jenna [00:46:44] Yeah. And Robert has the talking head where he says he doesn’t normally allow sexual desire to influence his business decisions, but he finds it best to temporarily recuse himself until he’s made love. And then he can revisit the situation rationally. He says Buffett operates the same way. 

 

Angela [00:47:01] Okay. 

 

Jenna [00:47:02] I have found the character of Robert California just gets increasingly weirder and weirder. And I got a little curious about it. Like, what exactly is going on? Why? And I actually found a quote from James Spader in Andy Greene’s book. And I want to read you his take on Robert California getting weirder and weirder. 

 

Angela [00:47:25] Great. 

 

Jenna [00:47:26] He said, quote, The characters on the show were constantly treating my character like this sort of enigmatic guy who they couldn’t quite figure out. And I realized partway in that the writers couldn’t quite figure him out either. I mean, the same relationship that the other characters had with Robert, the writers had with him as well. But I feel that worked to my advantage. They wrote some really strange, eccentric stuff that I loved goofing around with. Now, whether it was successful in terms of the greater context of the whole show, I don’t know. That wasn’t my concern. My concern was to try and play this guy and commit to him. And to me, he was just this very strange, totally eccentric, enigmatic guy. And I think that really comes out in his performance. And it’s what I remember of him. He’s one of those actors, and you find them a lot in the theater, the words that the playwright has written are the law. And it’s your job as the actor to figure out how to make it work. And you make it work. And I just I really liked that perspective on the character and what he had to say about what he was given to play with. 

 

Angela [00:48:32] Yeah, I like that, too. Well, since Robert has left, now the Nellie Andy showdown is really going to happen. And we talked about this with Claire. They start going back and forth where she calls on Angela to dock his pay and Angela’s like, On it! And then Andy wants Angela to dock Nellie’s pay. She doesn’t respond. 

 

Jenna [00:48:52] Crickets. 

 

Angela [00:48:54] Crickets. And then ultimately, Nellie’s going to threaten to dock Andy’s pay $10,000. She starts counting. Andy leaves hurriedly. 

 

Jenna [00:49:03] Yeah. 

 

Angela [00:49:03] Mm hmm. He makes up an excuse that’s in the shooting draft that he has to pee. 

 

Jenna [00:49:07] Oh? 

 

Angela [00:49:08] He ducks out of the room. 

 

Jenna [00:49:09] I see. Well, Erin’s going to walk a very deflated Andy to the car. And I don’t know if you noticed, but the ground outside is wet, and they had sprinkled raindrops on the car because, you know, the cold open. 

 

Angela [00:49:24] Details! Yes! 

 

Jenna [00:49:25] Yeah. It had stopped raining, but it was raining earlier. Cats and dogs. 

 

Angela [00:49:28] I kind of feel like Erin should have read the room here, which, Look, I know Erin doesn’t read the room well, but I think she should have been like, you know, forget about tonight’s hot date. 

 

Jenna [00:49:38] Right. 

 

Angela [00:49:39] You know, a lot happened today. I can see you’re preoccupied. Let’s just hang out. Let’s just watch a movie. 

 

Jenna [00:49:46] Mm hmm. But I feel like isn’t that kind of maybe what a woman wants at the end of a hard day is for her partner to recognize, like, I know what you would love is a good snuggle on the couch and a let’s binge a show and share a tub of ice cream sort of thing. But maybe at the end of a hard day for a man- I know I’m throwing out stereotypes right now- but maybe the man wants the hot date. You know what I mean? How do men who’ve had a hard day like to finish their day? Is it with a hot date?

 

Angela [00:50:17] I’m sure, they’ll let us know. I’m sure they’ll write us and let us know. Okay. So in the episode that aired, the next scene is the start of a new day. Right? 

 

Jenna [00:50:27] Yeah. 

 

Angela [00:50:28] It’s Erin approaching Andy in the break room. Well, in the producer’s cut, there was a scene before it. 

 

Jenna [00:50:33] Oh. 

 

Angela [00:50:34] And I want to share it. Andy is sort of tucked around the corner of the warehouse, kind of hiding in that alleyway. And as Dwight, Kevin and Oscar make their way in for the day, he’s like, Guys, guys! And he pulls him aside. And I want you to hear this clip. 

 

Dwight [00:50:50] What are you guys talking about? 

 

Oscar [00:50:51] Charlie Rose. 

 

Dwight [00:50:52] I don’t know who that is. 

 

Andy [00:50:53] Guys? 

 

Oscar [00:50:54] He has- 

 

Andy [00:50:55] Guys. Come here. 

 

Oscar [00:50:59] What do you- 

 

Andy [00:50:59] Come on. 

 

Kevin [00:51:03] Where are we going? 

 

Andy [00:51:05] Okay. Do you guys want- 

 

Kevin [00:51:07] Andy, you should not stand there. The warehouse guys pee there all the time. 

 

Andy [00:51:14] Ew. Okay. Do you guys want to be part of something huge? 

 

Dwight [00:51:19] I’m already a member of the largest club there is: non churchgoing Christians. 

 

Andy [00:51:25] You remember in the movie, Rudy, when a player comes into the coach’s office and he throws his jersey down and he’s like, I’m not playing without Rudy. And the coach is like, one guy. No big deal. But then every player comes in one by one and all throw their jerseys down for Rudy. You remember that? 

 

Kevin [00:51:42] Yeah, I remember that. 

 

Andy [00:51:44] So how amazing would it be if you guys all did that for me with your own brand new Dunder Mifflin jerseys? 

 

Nate [00:51:54] Hey, guys. 

 

Angela [00:51:57] And then Nate name comes in and starts to pee by the wall. 

 

Jenna [00:52:01] What’s so amazing about that is they made Dunder Mifflin jerseys? 

 

Angela [00:52:05] Yes. 

 

Jenna [00:52:06] For the scene? 

 

Angela [00:52:07] A whole box of them. He holds them up. They’re, like, legit, nice, real, like football jerseys. They’re navy and in white they say, Dunder Mifflin. I wish I had one. 

 

Jenna [00:52:18] Yeah! 

 

Angela [00:52:18] They’re so cute. And, lady, I just thought, you know, we had these jerseys made and the storyline got completely cut, but you can see them throughout the episode. I’m going to point them out. Starting with when Erin approaches Andy in the break room to say, Hey, you know what? Don’t worry about last night. It wasn’t a big deal. We were both tired, right? She’s doing that whole speech. Andy is going through the big box of jerseys. 

 

Jenna [00:52:44] Oh, my gosh. That’s what that was! 

 

Angela [00:52:46] Yes! He ultimately hands the jerseys out to everyone. I’ll point that out later. 

 

Jenna [00:52:51] I think it’s really weird that Erin waited until the break room to bring up last night. He didn’t want to talk about that on the drive in? 

 

Angela [00:53:00] I know. 

 

Jenna [00:53:01] Or anywhere. 

 

Angela [00:53:02] Yeah. Before work. 

 

Jenna [00:53:04] Yeah. Andy leaves the break room and he’s angry. We’re kind of seeing Angry Andy for the first time. 

 

Angela [00:53:11] Well, Erin won’t drop it. 

 

Jenna [00:53:12] Yeah. 

 

Angela [00:53:13] They sort of got past it, but then she’s like, Again, it’s no big deal. And it’s like, Okay, how many times are you going to say it’s no big deal when it’s clearly a big deal? 

 

Jenna [00:53:22] Ryan’s going to try to woo Kelly back. 

 

Angela [00:53:24] By showing her photos of himself that he made her take of him. 

 

Jenna [00:53:29] While they were in a fight. 

 

Angela [00:53:30] Yeah. 

 

Jenna [00:53:33] Erin’s going to seek out some advice from Dwight. They sneak off to the stairwell where you have a private conversation in the world of Dunder Mifflin, and she wants to know if he ever experienced penile softiosis when he was manager. 

 

Angela [00:53:48] He’s like, Absolutely not. No, never happened. I felt like Rainn improvised at the end. Because sometimes he would love to improvise as you were leaving a scene, kind of shout something out to you. 

 

Jenna [00:54:01] Okay. 

 

Angela [00:54:01] So I went to the shooting draft and he did. He improvised the Washington Monument and the Eiffel Tower. And there was a third one that made it in the extended cut that was not in the aired version where he said, And Colossus at Rhodes. And then there was a brief little moment in the extended cut where Pam says to Kelly, Hey, do you want to shop instead of having lunch today? And Kelly flips out. She’s like, Seriously?! And that’s when the scene starts of the two of them online shopping. It was Pam’s invitation. Pam’s plotting. She’s working it. 

 

Jenna [00:54:35] Oh, I like that. Well, I remember the very top of the scene got cut, because what’s happening at the very beginning of the scene is Kelly is buying every item in every color and every size. And Pam says you’re buying every color and every size? And Kelly says, It’s free returns. And then the scene would have picked up. 

 

Angela [00:54:57] Yes. 

 

Jenna [00:54:59] Well, Pam is trying to remind Kelly of how unhappy she was with Ryan. She’s like, Don’t you remember when he cheated on you? And she’s like, which time? 

 

Angela [00:55:11] Pam’s looks to camera were very good. 

 

Jenna [00:55:14] Well, Pam, as a talking head. She is not going to let Kelly throw her life away for Ryan. And also, this has nothing to do with her access to her pediatrician. She feels like that question was coming. She doesn’t know why. She felt like it was. 

 

Angela [00:55:23] I thought you were really funny in this episode, Jenna. I really enjoyed your performance. 

 

Jenna [00:55:28] I really liked this B story. I really liked going head to head with Ryan. I loved doing scenes with Mindy. So this was fun. 

 

Angela [00:55:35] Well, clearly the fans love it when Pam and Ryan go head to head. 

 

Jenna [00:55:39] I guess so. 

 

Angela [00:55:40] As the fan fiction site will show you. There’s now a scene in Nellie’s office where Dwight is running down a list of things that are going on around the office. Here’s how it read in the script. Pam sent around a puppy clip that most found overrated. I think one of Toby’s eyes is getting smaller. Gabe bragged about having an extra ticket to an air show this weekend. Meredith expressed interest. Gabe then said his friend might be taking the ticket. I’ll keep you posted. 

 

Jenna [00:56:08] Then he’s going to spill the beans about Andy’s impotence. Hmm. And I think we should take a break because Nellie’s going to call a whole conference room meeting about it. 

 

Angela [00:56:19] Yeah, I really awkward conference room scene about it. 

 

Jenna [00:56:23] I was legitimately uncomfortable. 

 

Angela [00:56:25] I felt so bad for Andy. 

 

Jenna [00:56:27] Same. All right. We’ll talk all about it in a minute. 

 

Angela [00:56:30] On that note… We are back. Nellie is going to call a conference room meeting, and Andy is like, No, that’s- and then he pretends to call the conference room meeting. Right? Because she’s not the manager. Go to 10 minutes, 34 seconds. You can see a box of jerseys. And. And there’s a few kind of around the office. You can see one plainly on the file cabinet by Dwight’s desk. That’s because there was a scene where Andy was still trying to get everyone to get on board with this Rudy idea. There’s a whole scene in the extended cut where people are like passing out jerseys. They’re talking about the movie. And then Jim says, What about Spartacus? It’s a whole thing. 

 

Jenna [00:57:23] Well, Andy is going to look over his shoulder and he sees the word importance written on the whiteboard. And he’s like, Yes, this is about how everyone in the room is important. And Robert corrects him. Robert says, It doesn’t say importance, Andy. It says impotence. 

 

Angela [00:57:43] You know what I thought? 

 

Jenna [00:57:44] What? 

 

Angela [00:57:44] Sometimes we see what we need to see. 

 

Jenna [00:57:47] Ohh. 

 

Angela [00:57:48] He needed to feel important. 

 

Jenna [00:57:50] Yeah. 

 

Angela [00:57:52] Sorry. Didn’t… Didn’t mean to be the sad aunt that points things out. 

 

Jenna [00:57:58] Nellie is going to take over the conference room meeting now, and she’s going to explain that impotence is a human problem. And everyone starts weighing in. 

 

Angela [00:58:07] Yeah, Dwight says, Not necessarily a human problem. Flounders also experience this when converting from one gender to another. 

 

Jenna [00:58:16] Mm hmm. 

 

Angela [00:58:17] Had to know, did Dwight make this up, or is some of it truth? 

 

Jenna [00:58:22] I almost looked it up and I didn’t. And I’m so glad you did, because it’s bothered me that I don’t know. 

 

Angela [00:58:27] This is classic Dwight, you guys, where he says something and there’s always a little bit of truth, even though sometimes that sounds bizarre. I found an article titled Hook, Line and Science. 

 

Jenna [00:58:39] I like it already. 

 

Angela [00:58:40] And it had this to say about Flounders. New research shows that higher temperatures can masculinize Southern flounder populations. For many reptiles and some fishes, their sex can be determined by the temperatures in their surrounding environment. Southern flounder exhibits this temperature dependent sex determination when exposed to warm or cold temperatures during a critical period in juvenile development and can cause genetic females to develop as males. 

 

Jenna [00:59:10] But then are they impotent? 

 

Angela [00:59:11] Well, I put an asterisk and said it doesn’t mention anything about impotence. 

 

Jenna [00:59:16] Well, we learned very interesting things about Flounders. 

 

Angela [00:59:19] But I said, I guess Dwight is half right. 

 

Jenna [00:59:22] Yeah. Okay. Very interesting. Oscar is going to ask if the person in quotes experiencing the impotence would like everyone to help her. And Nellie says, No, no, no, it’s not me. It’s not me. She says that Dwight spoke with her about impotence. 

 

Angela [00:59:40] And I guess Dwight is going to prove to everyone that, no, it’s not him. He can get an erection on the spot. Everyone is completely grossed out and tells him to sit down. And that’s when Andy finally confesses. Look, I had a little problem with Erin last night. Then this cuts to an Andy talking head and he’s like, Hey, I had a lot on my mind. Happens to plenty of guys. It’s usually not followed up by a workplace discussion. And I agree. 

 

Jenna [01:00:06] Yeah. 

 

Angela [01:00:07] Yeah. We don’t need to bring this to work. 

 

Jenna [01:00:10] We don’t need to bring this to work. 

 

Angela [01:00:12] The scene is going to continue. Everyone is now chiming in, but did anyone else notice when St Louis showed up at 24 minutes and 46 seconds? 

 

Jenna [01:00:22] Lady, Katie J from Edmond, Oklahoma, but who was born in St Louis, sure did. 

 

Angela [01:00:27] Hey, Edmond, Oklahoma. I’ve been there. Just a shout out. Well, Phyllis says, If it makes you feel any better, I never had an orgasm until I was farty-two, and then when I did, it lasted till I was farty-far. Did I do it okay, Jenna? 

 

Jenna [01:00:43] You did very well. 

 

Angela [01:00:44] Thank you. 

 

Jenna [01:00:44] Yes. Katie J said that listening to Phyllis say this line made her want to head straight up farty far and get some Ted Drewes, because that is the freeway that you take to get to the famous Ted Drewes frozen custard. Farty-far. 

 

Angela [01:00:57] Farty-far.  

 

Jenna [01:00:58] You know, lady, this scene was bonkers. And we got a fan question from Finn in Grand Rapids, who said, What did standards and practices have to say about the conference room scene? 

 

Angela [01:01:09] Yeah. What did they?

 

Jenna [01:01:11] Finn, I was so glad you asked. I asked Steve Burgess. He said the only notes that we got on this episode were from a table draft version of the script. We would have read this at the table read. There was a scene where Erin is at her computer the next morning and she’s looking up information on impotence. The scene description read like this, quote, Erin, is that her computer. We get a look at what’s on the screen, a site reading “Impotence: causes and solutions” with a drawing of the male reproductive tract. Erin notices the camera and quickly turns her monitor away. Nellie walks up. And then Nellie was going to notice her monitor. And Nellie says, Well, look who’s not so boring after all. I’ll show you where to go for the really naughty stuff. And then it said, Nellie walks around the desk and begins to type something in the computer. So when we turned that script in to standards and practices, here’s what they had to say: Page 17. As discussed with Steve Burgess, examples of the male reproductive tract, one of which will be seen on Erin’s computer, will be sent to us for our review at your earliest convenience. Please keep in mind, because of the subject matter, the visual may still have to be blurred. So keep that in mind. Well, this scene ultimately ended up being cut before we shot. It wasn’t even in the shooting draft, and Steve Burgess said we received no other notes about the shooting draft or the final cut and absolutely nothing at all about the conference room scene. 

 

Angela [01:02:41] I feel like standards and practices was on sort of remote leave or something during Steve Burgess’s era. 

 

Jenna [01:02:49] Apparently they cared a lot about imagery, but maybe not so much about our discussion. 

 

Angela [01:02:54] But there was also no, as previously stated. 

 

Jenna [01:02:57] No! 

 

Angela [01:02:57] None of that. 

 

Jenna [01:02:59] Well, lady, I did a deep dive on impotence. 

 

Angela [01:03:02] What? 

 

Jenna [01:03:03] I did. I thought, why not? Here’s what I’m going to tell you I found out. It is normal to have trouble getting or keeping an erection for up to 20% of the time. So any just man having a sex life, if you aren’t able to maintain your erection 20% of the time, that’s considered normal and no reason to see a doctor. If you experience that more than 50% of the time, that’s when you should seek medical evaluation. And there’s a lot of medical issues that can cause erectile dysfunction and you should get checked out. And the list is long. I mean, there’s, you know, heart disease and all kinds of things that could be leading to this problem. So fellas, go to the doctor. Important. But there’s other things as well. Could be your age, depression, anxiety, PTSD, stress. In Andy’s case, I think stress. 

 

Angela [01:03:58] Oh, yeah. 

 

Jenna [01:03:59] And to solve these issues, they recommend improving your lifestyle habits first. Stop drinking, stop smoking, exercise, reduce your stress. And if those things don’t help, you could try therapy or medications or testosterone replacement therapy. For mild E.D. you can try a penis pump. And as a last resort, you can try surgery. You can get a penile prosthesis. And I looked it up. It involves putting an inflatable rod in the middle of the penis. This is also used in gender affirming surgeries. I read a lot about this, Angela. It’s a very sensitive surgery, has a very long recovery time. It’s like 6 to 8 weeks until you’re kind of comfortable again. But 86% of people report being really happy with the results. I really got curious about, like who came up with this. I’m always fascinated by that. Like, who was the first person to think of putting a rod in the penis and then who’s the first person who agreed to be the first patient? You know? Who was like, I’ll try that thing that’s never been done with the most sensitive area of my body. 

 

Angela [01:05:15] Yeah. 

 

Jenna [01:05:16] Well, doctors have been working on this for a very long time. Back in 1889. That’s what got me into the history of erectile dysfunction medicine, which goes back very far. The first thing that someone tried in 1889, a famous neurologist injected himself with dog testicle extract. He took some, I guess, extract from a dog’s testicles and put it in himself. 

 

Angela [01:05:44] There’s too many jumps for my mind to make for that. Like how? What dog? How did they get this- I just can’t. Why? 

 

Jenna [01:05:49] I don’t know, lady. I don’t know. He said that he got increased energy levels, but then a series of follow up trials were done and it, like, really debunked. Like there was no- it doesn’t work. 

 

Angela [01:06:04] Leave dogs alone.

 

Jenna [01:06:05] Yeah. In the 1800s, doctors started injecting people with sheep testicle extract. I don’t know why they thought the leap from dog to sheep would be, you know what I mean? It’s like if the dog thing didn’t work, why would the sheep thing work? 

 

Angela [01:06:24] So, so are these doctors thinking that some thing from animal balls will help human balls? 

 

Jenna [01:06:33] Well. You know, I think it’s the logic of like if you took some cells from a healthy liver and put them in a diseased liver, it would fix the diseased liver. That was a lot of early medicine was like, if I just give it some of a healthy version of itself. 

 

Angela [01:06:50] Right, then don’t change my habits or whatever. 

 

Jenna [01:06:53] Right. The first records of like a penile prosthesis we’re in the early 16th century. A doctor made like a wooden penis to help a man who had suffered like a penile amputation. And it was successful. Isn’t that a phrase where you’re like, I got a woody? 

 

Angela [01:07:16] Did it come from the wooden penis man? 

 

Jenna [01:07:18] I don’t know. I don’t know. 

 

Angela [01:07:20] Because he was clearly walking around with a woody for the rest of his life. 

 

Jenna [01:07:24] The rest of his life. 

 

Angela [01:07:24] He probably became known as Woody in the village. 

 

Jenna [01:07:26] I guess it really helped him, though. A lot of the early penile surgeries were to help people pee again after a penile trauma. But, Angela, shout out to your alma mater. 

 

Angela [01:07:38] Baylor University? 

 

Jenna [01:07:39] Baylor University, because urologist F Brantly Scott is credited with the modern penile implant that we know today. 

 

Angela [01:07:52] Well. I did not read about that in the alumni newsletter. But it will give me something to talk about next time I’m on campus. 

 

Jenna [01:08:00] He got a nice write up in The New York Times when he passed away and it mentioned his contribution to science and the world of erectile dysfunction and penile implants. But modern medicine is amazing. And you know what? It’s not going to come to that for Andy. He’s not going to be needing to go there. 

 

Angela [01:08:20] Maybe if season eight had continued. 

 

Jenna [01:08:27] There it is, everyone. More than you ever wanted to know about how to cure erectile dysfunction. 

 

Angela [01:08:33] Things are really going to escalate now, and Andy is going to get pretty worked up. He’s going to hang up on his dad. He’s going to punch a wall. Erin is going to throw stuff. They’ve had it. They’re done. And we talked about this scene with Claire, but ultimately they end up sitting on the couch at front reception. And Erin says, You know what? Maybe it will be sent to anger management together. And Andy says, You know what? That might be kind of nice. There’s some of the guys I want you to meet. And that’s when Robert says, Hey, come into Nellie’s office. And Robert tells Andy he’s going to put him back on the sales team because Nellie’s going to be the manager. And Andy says, No. 

 

Jenna [01:09:14] Mm hmm. 

 

Angela [01:09:15] And Robert’s like, That’s how it’s going to be. And Andy’s like, No. And then he’s like, Andy, if you say no, one more time, you’re fired. And he says, No. 

 

Jenna [01:09:25] Yeah. 

 

Angela [01:09:26] So he packs up his stuff and he’s actually happy. It’s like for the first time, he feels like he has his life back. 

 

Jenna [01:09:32] He’s got something else back, too! 

 

Angela [01:09:34] Yeah. Shwing! 

 

Jenna [01:09:36] Yeah. 

 

Angela [01:09:36] He’s like, Let’s go, Erin. Right now. 

 

Jenna [01:09:39] That kind of finishes out the Andy Erin storyline for this episode, but it really doesn’t clear up what exactly is going to happen with Andy and his job as manager. That’ll be next week, I guess. 

 

Angela [01:09:47] Yeah. And Erin just threw stuff at everybody. We don’t know what’s up with her either. 

 

Jenna [01:09:52] Mm hmm. I just like to ask, what do you have to do at Dunder Mifflin to actually get fired? I mean, remember, Erin quit the whole Sabre thing, and yet when she came back, expected that she still had her receptionist job back. And now she’s thrown stuff all over the ground. Andy’s punched a wall. He was M.I.A. for how long? Can you get fired from this job? 

 

Angela [01:10:13] Well, if Ryan is any proof, no. 

 

Jenna [01:10:19] Toby is really ineffective. 

 

Angela [01:10:22] Yeah. Well, someone else is pretty angry in the office today, and it’s Ryan. He’s going to charge into the break room and confront Pam and say, Hey, I heard you’ve been, you know, talking crap about me to Kelly. And she’s like, Listen, if you really insist- and I feel like I’ve said this before- doesn’t she say she’s like, Forgive me, but I feel like I’ve said this before, I don’t like you. 

 

Jenna [01:10:45] Yeah. 

 

Angela [01:10:45] I don’t think you’re a good person. 

 

Jenna [01:10:48] I love how direct and succinct Pam is when she’s speaking to Ryan. 

 

Angela [01:10:54] I know she’s a totally different person when she talks to Ryan. He brings out this whole other side of her. 

 

Jenna [01:11:00] There is no gray area, no misunderstanding. 

 

Angela [01:11:03] Nope. There’s going to be a debate between Oscar and Kevin and Pam about whether or not Ryan or Ravi is better for Kelly. They all are like, Oh, no, it’s Ravi. It’s 100% Ravi. 

 

Jenna [01:11:16] Mm hmm. Even Nate, who’s never met Ravi, prefers Ravi. 

 

Angela [01:11:20] Over to Brian. That’s what he calls him.  

 

Jenna [01:11:23] Yes. I don’t know if you noticed in the scene I’m eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and then I have some yogurt in a Tupperware container. That was an interesting lunch, and I think maybe I just really wanted to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  

 

Angela [01:11:37] PB and J’s were really good. I would often ask for that. 

 

Jenna [01:11:40] They were so good. It was the bread. 

 

Angela [01:11:42] It was the bread. 

 

Jenna [01:11:42] I was looking at it and my gluten free self was really craving that pbj. 

 

Angela [01:11:48] Now everyone is going to leave for the day, but what is waiting outside in the parking lot? 

 

Jenna [01:11:53] Mm hmm. 

 

Angela [01:11:54] It’s Ryan on horseback. He is in a type of traditional Indian dress. 

 

Both [01:12:00] As is the horse. 

 

Angela [01:12:03] Jinx. I was very curious. Did you ask Steve Burgess how much that cost? 

 

Jenna [01:12:07] Yes, I did. It costs $2500. The horse was an Indian wedding horse that we found online. And Bob Dunn contacted the company and brought the horse out to us. The horse came with wardrobe. There were two choices for the horse’s wardrobe. And we picked this one. 

 

Angela [01:12:25] That’s amazing. 

 

Jenna [01:12:26] Mm hmm. 

 

Angela [01:12:27] Well, Ryan is now, from horseback, going to give a speech to Kelly if he can ever get the horse to turn around. 

 

Jenna [01:12:33] Mm hmm. 

 

Angela [01:12:34] This is what his speech says. And it’s really what every girl wants, fellas. He says, Kelly, I can’t promise you that we’ll always stay together. I can’t promise you that I’ll never cheat on you. Nor should I. Modern marriages aren’t built that way. Men aren’t built that way. There’s a very interesting article I can email to you, but I can tell you this. Even if the odds are 50/50 that we’ll break up within the week, I want to roll those dice. I love you, Kelly. 

 

Jenna [01:13:04] But Kelly says, No. I choose Ravi. I love him. 

 

Angela [01:13:09] But then she asks for a hug. And then they start making out. 

 

Jenna [01:13:12] Well, here is something interesting. This scene was scripted to end with Kelly finally, after an uncomfortably long period of time, pulling away from kissing Ryan and saying, Goodbye, friend. But we cut that. 

 

Angela [01:13:28] That changes everything. 

 

Jenna [01:13:29] Yeah. 

 

Angela [01:13:30] Think it’s good that we cut it, though, because it really is going to play out later. But Ryan will always be with Kelly. 

 

Jenna [01:13:39] We got a fan question from Chris L in East Brunswick, New Jersey, who said, In the scene where Ryan gives a less than perfect proposal to Kelly, dressed in traditional Indian wedding garb, when he is on the horse and he says, Turn around, and the horse trainer says, He doesn’t want to turn around, was that scripted or improvised? Chris, it was scripted that the horse would not turn around. 

 

Angela [01:14:01] Yes. 

 

Jenna [01:14:02] And that Ryan would have to do his whole speech to her facing backwards. 

 

Angela [01:14:06] And even him saying, Can you turn this (BLEEP) thing around? 

 

Jenna [01:14:09] Yeah. 

 

Angela [01:14:10] Even him cursing was scripted. 

 

Jenna [01:14:12] I want to give a shout out to the horse wrangler, guest star, Miles Cranford. Miles did not become an actor until later in life. I was reading his bio online and it said that he always loved acting, but he got a bachelor’s degree in science and in his lifetime worked as a teacher, a firefighter, a financial services manager, a ranch manager, and a certified hotel administrator. But later in life, he realized his true passion was acting. The Office was one of his earlier jobs after changing careers, but he’s been in so many things. He is now a full time working actor. And Angela, Fresh off the Boat crossover. 

 

Angela [01:14:49] Hey! 

 

Jenna [01:14:50] Our new crossover. 

 

Angela [01:14:51] It’s our new Monk. 

 

Jenna [01:14:51] Mm hmm. 

 

Angela [01:14:52] The episode’s going to end with a callback to something we forgot to mention, which is earlier in the episode, Ryan says that he wrote Kelly the best poem ever. 

 

Jenna [01:15:02] Mm hmm. 

 

Angela [01:15:02] And Pam’s like, Read it, please. He’s like, No, it would crush you. You couldn’t even handle it. And everyone’s like, kind of egging him on to read it, and he won’t read it. 

 

Jenna [01:15:12] Mm hmm. 

 

Angela [01:15:12] Well, Pam finds it in the trash, and Jim’s like, What are you doing? She’s like, Don’t you want to hear this poem? And they start to read it. 

 

Jenna [01:15:19] Yeah, they read the first two lines. 

 

Angela [01:15:20] Yeah, it starts like this: Kapoor and kadesperate, he watches. He is a drifter out to sea. 

 

Jenna [01:15:30] And then there’s kind of a time cut. 

 

Angela [01:15:32] Yeah. 

 

Jenna [01:15:32] And we hear the last line of the poem. 

 

Angela [01:15:35] And when the Indian Ocean calms, one speck of white remains in waters cold and Kelly Green. 

 

Jenna [01:15:43] Pam is choked up. 

 

Angela [01:15:44] Yeah. She’s like, It’s so dumb. But when he describes himself as a child lost on a life raft. And then Jim is teary! 

 

Jenna [01:15:53] In his final talking head, he says, Ryan can never know. 

 

Angela [01:15:57] This poem really got them. 

 

Jenna [01:15:58] We had a fan question from Angela F in Saint Louis wondering if there was a full length version of Ryan’s poem. Angela, I’m sorry. No. 

 

Angela [01:16:06] I looked for it too. 

 

Jenna [01:16:08] I know. 

 

Angela [01:16:08] I was so hoping there was something in the candy bag. Anything? No. 

 

Jenna [01:16:12] This is all will ever know of the poem. 

 

Angela [01:16:14] Yeah. 

 

Jenna [01:16:15] That moved Jim and Pam to tears. 

 

Angela [01:16:18] Well, that was Angry Andy, everyone. Thank you so much to Claire for stopping by and talking with us about her time on the show. 

 

Jenna [01:16:25] And thank you, Steve Burgess, for giving us all the details on the horse and the messages from standards and practices. 

 

Angela [01:16:32] And to all of you for writing in every week. We absolutely love rewatching the show and sharing it with you. We hope you have a great one. Know we’re thinking of you and we love you. 

 

Jenna [01:16:41] We’ll see you next week! Thank you for listening to Office Ladies. 

 

Angela [01:16:49] Office Ladies is produced by Earwolf, Jenna Fischer, and Angela Kinsey. 

 

Jenna [01:16:53] Our senior producer is Cassi Jerkins. Our in-studio engineer is Sam Kieffer. Our editing and mixing engineer is Jordan Duffy. And our associate producer is Aynsley Bubbico. 

 

Angela [01:17:03] Our theme song is Rubber Tree by Creed Bratton.