EP. 148 — PDA with Greg Daniels

Jenna [00:00:03] I’m Jenna Fischer.

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

Jenna [00:00:06] 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 everybody!

Angela [00:00:24] Hi there!

Jenna [00:00:25] Today we are breaking down season seven, episode 16, PDA, and we have a special guest in the studio with us.

Angela [00:00:33] We do! The director of this episode, Greg Daniels! Yayyyy!

Greg Daniels [00:00:37] Heyyy.

Jenna [00:00:37] Hi, Greg!

Greg Daniels [00:00:37] Hi, guys.

Jenna [00:00:38] Welcome!

Greg Daniels [00:00:39] Thank you for having me. I have been in editing lately and I’m going back as soon as we’re done. I am still editing with Dave Rogers.

Angela [00:00:49] You are?

Greg Daniels [00:00:49] Yeah. So we’re on a link. A zoom link. It’s not in person anymore. But uh

Jenna [00:00:55] Is it harder to edit over Zoom?

Greg Daniels [00:00:59] Yeah, because I mean, the thing keeps lagging. I mean, we still have it worked out all the technical parts.

Jenna [00:01:05] Oh no. What are you guys editing right now?

Greg Daniels [00:01:06] We’re editing the first episode of season three of Upload, which we just finished.

Angela [00:01:12] Yayyy.

Jenna [00:01:13] Yayyy.

Greg Daniels [00:01:13] Yeah.

Jenna [00:01:14] That is awesome.

Angela [00:01:15] I went to the Upload premiere and Jenna, I looked at the red carpet. They were like, Do you want to do red carpet? And I was like, Oh, no, no, I’m just here to support Greg. And I stepped back. The most beautiful people walked by onto that red carpet. Your cast is so beautiful.

Greg Daniels [00:01:29] I took a photo with Robbie Amell and Andy Allo and Allegra Edwards and Zainab and uh and they all kind of got into that model pose where they put one foot forward and, like, cock their hips. And I was like, What the hell am I doing on this stage with these people? You know?

Angela [00:01:47] I thought you look very handsome that night. And we have a great photo I took with Greg.

Greg Daniels [00:01:51] I put myself on the side so that it would be easy for them to edit me out for the publicity photos. But anyway, this episode that we’re about to talk about was edited by Dave and Claire Scanlon, whose birthday it is today.

Speaker 4 [00:02:04] Oh, happy birthday, Claire!

Greg Daniels [00:02:06] Yeah.

Angela [00:02:07] Greg, you know, there is a commentary for this episode, and you and I are both on it.

Greg Daniels [00:02:11] Oh, I forgot about that.

Angela [00:02:13] You say some interesting things.

Greg Daniels [00:02:15] I’m really curious because you guys told me about this, and I literally forgot that I directed it or had anything to do with it. And I was like I was looking, I was like, God, I don’t have any anecdotes. I don’t even remember doing this. And I went back and watched it again. And it’s a really fun episode and.

Jenna [00:02:33] You should be very proud of the work. It’s very good.

Greg Daniels [00:02:34] I am. I am actually, as a as a craftsman, as like a directorial craftsman, I’m like, oh, that was a good shot. Oh, look at that reveal. Oh, there’s some good things here. So I did like that.

Angela [00:02:43] There’s so many good moves. I thought one of the things I was a big fan of, and I know we’re sort of jumping all over the place, but in the conference room when Gabe is like, Look, you guys can’t act like this, right? In the office. And they’re having this meeting about it. It’s a really long scene, but you have them first sitting, facing Gabe, and then once they realize it’s about them, you turn them around in the chair and now they’re facing all of us. It was so hard to get through that without laughing. That was so tough.

Greg Daniels [00:03:11] That was very funny. I think, to me, some of the best part was there was a lot of B-roll in this episode, and it was B-roll of like Jim and Pam trying to find someplace to, to.

Angela [00:03:23] Mess around.

Greg Daniels [00:03:24] To mess around in.

Jenna [00:03:24] Yes!

Greg Daniels [00:03:25] And the one where you guys are going up the ladder in the um.

Jenna [00:03:29] Into the warehouse sleeping spot?

Greg Daniels [00:03:31] In the warehouse. Yeah. And then it just the camera just reveals Calvin and you guys zoomed down.

Jenna [00:03:35] Yes.

Greg Daniels [00:03:35] That was pretty funny.

Jenna [00:03:37] I feel like I remember there’s a shot of John and he is going to suggest maybe we get into a box.

Angela [00:03:42] There is. There is.

Greg Daniels [00:03:43] Yes, yeah.

Jenna [00:03:43] Yeah. So for some reason, I feel like we saw that box and that was an idea on the day. I thought that was really funny.

Greg Daniels [00:03:52] I went back and looked at the script, which I sent to my phone in case we would reference it. But now the thought of digging it out and finding it on my phone, my tiny little phone, is impossible. But I was looking for certain things because I felt like, Oh yeah, was that actually scripted? Like and there was a good bit of improv. Like the, the thing about the monkeys throwing their poop was all of course improv.

Angela [00:04:13] Yes.

Jenna [00:04:14] Yeah, yeah. That scene ended much sooner.

Greg Daniels [00:04:16] Yeah.

Jenna [00:04:18] Well, would we want a summary for this episode?

Angela [00:04:21] I always like a summary.

Jenna [00:04:22] Thank you, Angela. All right.

Angela [00:04:24] Since you write them, I want to hear it.

Jenna [00:04:26] All right.

Greg Daniels [00:04:26] This was written by Robert Padnick.

Angela [00:04:27] Yes.

Jenna [00:04:28] Yes.

Greg Daniels [00:04:28] Yes. Who has gone on to write on so many other shows. Great News, Chad, Man Seeking Woman.

Jenna [00:04:37] Are you still in touch with Robert?

Greg Daniels [00:04:39] I am. I went on a walk with him about a month ago in the middle of the night.

Angela [00:04:45] A night walk?

Jenna [00:04:46] There’s more to this story. Do you often night walk?

Greg Daniels [00:04:48] Yes, I am a night walker. I will basically, when I’m in editing, which I’ve been in for a while, I will look at my phone at the end of the day and I will realize that I took 230 steps that day.

Jenna [00:04:59] I can relate to this.

Greg Daniels [00:05:00] Since I’m editing in my own house over Zoom. And then when that happens, I kind of go nuts and I go out on these long, rambling walks in the dark.

Angela [00:05:10] Do you like have a headlamp or some kind of lighted fixture on you?

Greg Daniels [00:05:15] I have a thing that I got sort of from King of the Hill days called a Bubba Stick, which is a walking stick with a big brass knob on the end of it.

Angela [00:05:25] Okay.

Greg Daniels [00:05:26] So.

Jenna [00:05:26] What does that do? Does it light your way or is it just a weapon?

Greg Daniels [00:05:29] There’s no light. There’s no light. It’s just for cobwebs and the when I’m going through things, and to, you know, imitate people who.

Angela [00:05:38] Might come your way?

Greg Daniels [00:05:39] Didn’t like The Office who may be lurking.

Angela [00:05:42] I like to night walk too. I have a path I do. But I did buy myself a headlamp. But I don’t wear it on my head. I just kind of tie it to my wrist. It’s just really a good look. So I’m out there in the neighborhood like that.

Greg Daniels [00:05:54] I’ll keep an eye out for you.

Angela [00:05:56] I’ll keep an eye out for you and your big stick. That doesn’t sound right. But you, you know what I mean. Wait, never mind. Okay. Summary. Summary.

Jenna [00:06:03] That’s what she said.

Greg Daniels [00:06:07] I hope that stays in. yeah.

Jenna [00:06:07] All right. Here is your summary. Now that they are back together, Michael and Holly’s public displays of affection are getting to be a bit too much for their coworkers. Meanwhile, Andy helps Erin with her Valentine’s Day treasure hunt from Gabe, and Pam and Jim, after getting drunk at lunch, are looking for a place to get it on at the office.

Angela [00:06:30] Bottomless mimosas. It’s always a slippery slope.

Jenna [00:06:33] They never found that bottom. Fast fact number one, I’m calling it season seven overview with Greg Daniels.

Angela [00:06:40] No pressure, Greg.

Jenna [00:06:41] Yeah. It’s all you. Since you’re here, we really wanted to ask you a little bit about the approach to season seven, knowing that it would be Steve Carell’s last year as Michael Scott.

Greg Daniels [00:06:55] Yeah, well, Paul Lieberstein ran this year, season seven, and I was a little bit of a broken man for season seven, I think, because season six I was also I was co running it with Paul and also co running Parks and Rec, and that was my season of 58 episodes or whatever.

Angela [00:07:16] Wow.

Jenna [00:07:16] Yeah.

Greg Daniels [00:07:16] Yeah. And so I was like a little busted up at the end of that season. So the main thing that I remember is a lot of discussions about how do you round the psychological arc for Michael? Like he he’s learning little things each episode sometimes or backsliding. And he has, you know, massive psychological issues.

Jenna [00:07:40] Mm hmm.

Greg Daniels [00:07:40] That he’s been working out. And I think we wanted to give him sort of a happy ending, which meant, you know, fixing a lot of his things and just keeping track of what remained to be addressed. And and then another big challenge this year was Jim and Pam, I think, because, you know, we really wanted to make sure that we didn’t put in any kind of cheap, you know, soap opera moves for them. But they had also hit a lot of the big milestones of gotten together and gotten married and had a kid.

Jenna [00:08:13] Yeah.

Greg Daniels [00:08:14] And so one of the things I loved about this episode was they have a really good comedy story that, you know, is not pushing anything in their relationship. It’s just like they’re both on the same page and, you know, they’re pursuing this very funny story.

Jenna [00:08:32] Yeah. You know, I really liked this episode because John was back. You know, John had been gone for about a month. He was shooting the movie Big Miracle with Ken Kwapis up in Alaska. And he only had these like little moments in each episode because he was gone a lot. And as Pam, it was really hard not to have Jim. You know? I had some fun storylines with the resolutions and things, but I didn’t realize how hungry I was for a Jim/Pam storyline.

Angela [00:08:59] Yeah.

Jenna [00:09:00] I loved seeing them together. I loved their drunken stumble out of the cab. I loved them being confronted by Ryan in front of Ryan’s office. I really liked having us together.

Greg Daniels [00:09:15] If you weren’t the host of this, I would gush probably ten times more about you in this episode. But I think, first of all, I’ll do- I have to do a little gushing.

Jenna [00:09:25] I can leave if I need to.

Angela [00:09:25] She’s she’s leaning back with her cup of coffee. She’s ready.

Jenna [00:09:28] I’m here for it.

Angela [00:09:28] Bring it on, Greg.

Greg Daniels [00:09:30] I mean, first, I think it’s very hard to act drunk. First of all. You guys did that really well. But it’s also it’s just such a endearing episode for Pam, I think, especially at the end. But there’s just like it’s I love the part where you were at the vending machine and you were like, And nobody knows.

Jenna [00:09:48] Yeah.

Greg Daniels [00:09:49] You know, except me and him.

Jenna [00:09:51] Yeah.

Greg Daniels [00:09:51] That was like a cool way to say it.

Angela [00:09:54] Yeah.

Greg Daniels [00:09:55] And it’s just kind of, I don’t know, it was exciting to see Pam be interested and the way you played drunk. You know, the big I’m sure we talked about at the time, I don’t know who initially said it, it’s like this truism about playing drunk is that you’re you’re supposed to be fighting it the whole time.

Jenna [00:10:13] Yes.

Greg Daniels [00:10:14] You’re supposed to be not playing drunk or attempting to play drunk. And I thought actually this episode turned out to be really interesting because the main plot is somewhat similar to that in that it’s all about like they’re not supposed to be touching each other and showing affection. And yet this amazing thing has happened that they both say that they love each other. I’m talking about Michael and Holly.

Angela [00:10:37] Yeah, yeah.

Jenna [00:10:37] Yeah.

Greg Daniels [00:10:38] And yet they’re not allowed to touch each other. It’s like that little limitation that they have to sort of work around I thought was really a good game to play.

Jenna [00:10:47] Well, Greg, that leads me very well into my fast fact number two, which is that this was our Valentine’s Day episode. It aired on February 10th, 2011. Angela, you had a tidbit?

Angela [00:11:00] Yes. Greg, so when I watched the commentary, you guys talked about this big debate about whether Michael and Holly should say I love you this early into the courtship that we’re seeing this season. Like, what would that do? And then you said you saw the performances by Steve and Amy and you’re like, of course they have to say I love you. Were you worried about that? Like, how serious was that conversation?

Greg Daniels [00:11:24] Well, so interesting that you prepared by listening to the commentary, which I should have done, because I have no memory of that or saying that. I think the performances were great in this. And, you know, there’s a number of moments where I thought, oh, well, this is the whole point. And, you know, I feel like this the episode is very Paul Lieberstein to me in a way, because he’s he’s a very subtle writer and like important things happen, but on the surface, they’re small things. And he found- and obviously with Padnick- but he found this, you know, this way for for it to be buried in a comedy story for them to say that and to say, do you love me- love me? I love you- love you. To me feels really Paul in my head. But um and yeah. And Amy’s amazing. Amy Ryan. The way she flushed and everything. And and there’s like, a really big romantic story point in the middle of this episode that seems like it’s just about PDAs and everything, but it is a big advancement for them. But it’s also episode 16 of Season seven and Steve leaves like episode 20. So it’s like we gotta, you know, you got to, got to roll it along.

Angela [00:12:36] Yeah. I think that was you guys’s worry it sounded like, that if, well, if they say this here, what does that mean for the next few episodes?

Greg Daniels [00:12:45] Yeah.

Angela [00:12:45] But it made me cry. I teared up at that scene. I thought it was so beautiful.

Jenna [00:12:50] Well, I have a fun little personal tidbit about this episode. So shortly before this episode aired, I found out I was pregnant in real life. So I was not pregnant when we were shooting it. But between shooting it and it airing, I found out that I was pregnant with my first child. And what’s really crazy about that is because later when I came in to your offices, Greg, and I told you and Paul that I was pregnant, and you were wondering if you should write it into the show, I can’t remember if it was you or Paul, but you said, (GASP!) It’s perfect! Jim and Pam got pregnant at Dunder Mifflin! They conceived Phillip in that closet! So it really points to, like, if you back up the dates, not only did Pam and Jim get it on, but this is the episode they conceived Phillip.

Greg Daniels [00:13:41] Wow. But you did not conceive during the week of shooting, you were already pregnant.

Angela [00:13:46] Oh, my gosh.

Jenna [00:13:47] I know where I conceived.

Angela [00:13:48] Oh no! Oh my gosh!

Jenna [00:13:48] I’ll keep that to myself. But it was over the Christmas hiatus.

Greg Daniels [00:13:53] Yeah, that makes more sense.

Jenna [00:13:54] So we were not shooting, no. But there must have been something was happening, right?

Greg Daniels [00:13:59] Yeah.

Jenna [00:13:59] While we were shooting because we shot this when we got back from break, so.

Greg Daniels [00:14:02] Well, now I want to watch it again. Just picture the idea that your baby is directing some of your performances somehow.

Jenna [00:14:07] Perhaps.

Greg Daniels [00:14:08] Hormonally.

Jenna [00:14:10] Maybe so. All right, fast fact number three, there were three romantic storylines in this episode. We’ve mentioned Michael and Holly. We’ve talked about Jim and Pam. There was also Andy and Erin. But Angela might have uncovered one more.

Angela [00:14:26] I did. But if you read the shooting draft, Greg, you probably saw it, too. I had to know about this scene. I printed it out for us in size 18 font because that’s my eyesight now. Okay, this is how it read. At the end of the meeting where Gabe is discussing PDA with everyone. It read like this in the script: All eyes turn to Michael and Holly, who are still hugging and haven’t gotten the hint. She is tweaking his nipples, his face is frozen in stupid ecstasy. Oscar says to Michael and Holly, Maybe you guys should be listening. Michael says, Wait, is this about Holly and me? Meredith says, No, it’s about the wild sex between me and Kevin. And then she and Kevin laugh and they high five, but then they catch each other’s glance just a second too long. Maybe we should?

Greg Daniels [00:15:17] That could have been the start of something beautiful.

Angela [00:15:19] I mean, I was like, Wait, did you guys want Kevin and Meredith to hook up? Was that like a runner?

Greg Daniels [00:15:24] I don’t know. I love Kevin’s, She goes to another school.

Angela [00:15:28] Oh, that was so good.

Greg Daniels [00:15:29] And I think that probably that was so good that that dampened every other possibility for him in this episode. Yeah.

Angela [00:15:38] I had said to Kate, I was like, Kate, were they trying to hook Meredith up with people? She goes, There was always a joke like that. Almost every script, there was a joke about Meredith.

Jenna [00:15:47] Well, one thing’s for sure. They’re going to need all three of those closets because there is a lot of hooking up going on at Dunder Mifflin.

Angela [00:15:54] Not just in the office either. In the warehouse, too. I mean, we all know about Dwight and Angela.

Greg Daniels [00:15:59] I think definitely Darryl was active in the warehouse.

Jenna [00:16:02] See?

Angela [00:16:03] I like the phrase “active in the warehouse”. Gonna jot that one down.

Jenna [00:16:09] Greg, did you have a favorite scene from this episode when you were rewatching? Was there anything that you were particularly excited about or that you remember shooting?

Greg Daniels [00:16:21] Like I was saying about the B-roll, I loved a lot of the B-roll. I like Michael just sitting there eating Cheetos and and stuff like that and some of that I feel like we discovered during the, the actual shooting, which was, was fun. But there were some, I mean, I loved the ending of the Jim and Pam story. I think that, you know, there’s so much about this episode where it wasn’t verbal, it was like visual or behavioral, and that’s always really fun for me, I think. And just at that moment of the I love you love you was probably the highlight because, you know, Michael went out on a limb. And he always messes up when he goes out on a limb and says that he loves someone. He’s always too early. Too soon.

Jenna [00:17:03] Yeah.

Greg Daniels [00:17:03] And you’re just like, oh, he’s blowing it. He’s blowing it. And then he didn’t blow it cuz she felt the same way. And that was such a good moment.

Angela [00:17:12] I loved it and I loved the reaction shots while the scene was happening, because Jim has this look like it’s very amazing that John did it, because it’s read drunk, but also like, Oh, my God. But then Pam has this look that reads drunk, Jenna, but it’s like, oh, no, no, mayday, mayday, back up!

Jenna [00:17:30] Yeah.

Angela [00:17:31] Like, no, Michael. And it just helped it build. And and then she was right there where he was, and it was so perfect.

Greg Daniels [00:17:38] Yeah.

Jenna [00:17:38] Well, when you were talking about the debate of having Michael say I love you and is it too soon, I almost feel like it needed to be too soon because we needed the partner who was going to meet him where he is, which is a person.

Angela [00:17:53] Just like him.

Jenna [00:17:53] Who says it too soon.

Angela [00:17:55] Yeah.

Greg Daniels [00:17:55] Right.

Jenna [00:17:55] Even though, come on, he’s earned it. He has loved Holly for a year now. And they should have said I love you the last time they were dating. We all know. They’re perfect for each other.

Greg Daniels [00:18:07] Yeah.

Jenna [00:18:07] And so in that sense, also, it’s not too soon. She needed that nudge I think.

Angela [00:18:12] The, the second scene that just warmed my heart was when she tells him- they’re over back in human resources by her desk and she’s like, Work doesn’t get to decide who we are to each other. We get to decide that.

Greg Daniels [00:18:27] Yeah, that’s a great scene. That’s really well written, I think.

Angela [00:18:30] And the look like that comes over Michael’s face of like, okay. And even just the way Steve did it, I was like, Oh, my God, my heart.

Jenna [00:18:38] Mm hmm. Do you remember who said I love you first in your couples?

Angela [00:18:43] Oh, I’m always I, I always say things first, guys.

Jenna [00:18:47] You’re a first?

Angela [00:18:48] I’m a Michael. I mean, yeah, the minute I feel it, I’m going to tell you. I can’t hold it in.

Greg Daniels [00:18:55] I’m still saving it, I think. I think there’s nothing better on a 50th anniversary…

Jenna [00:19:01] Than that first I love you.

Angela [00:19:06] To finally say it.

Greg Daniels [00:19:06] Yeah, just to confirm it.

Angela [00:19:08] Yeah, yeah, you earned it. Here it is.

Jenna [00:19:10] It was Lee. Lee said I love you first. And he blurted it out on accident. But I was, I came right in and I was like, No, but I love you!

Greg Daniels [00:19:18] Oh, nice. So you’re just like the, the show.

Jenna [00:19:20] Show a little bit. Yeah. Greg, thank you so much for coming on Office Ladies today and talking about PDA.

Greg Daniels [00:19:27] Well, thanks for having me. It’s been so much fun to see you guys and reminisce again.

Angela [00:19:31] All right. Well, we’re going to be hitting you up for a few more episodes.

Greg Daniels [00:19:34] Awesome. I’m there.

Jenna [00:19:38] Well, we’re back. It was so nice to see Greg.

Angela [00:19:40] I know.

Jenna [00:19:42] You know, before we start breaking down this episode, Angela, I realized I have some writer news that I didn’t get to share.

Angela [00:19:49] Okay.

Jenna [00:19:49] So beginning with this episode, writer and cast member B.J. Novak was promoted. He was promoted from co-executive producer to executive producer.

Angela [00:20:00] Hmm.

Jenna [00:20:01] And Warren Lieberstein and Halstead Sullivan were also promoted from producers to supervising producers. So we were handing out some promotions. Also, we kind of talked about this with Greg, but Robert Padnick, the writer for this episode, was a new writer for season seven, and he was nominated for a Writers Guild Award for this episode.

Angela [00:20:24] I have a Robert Padnick story. I sold a show with Robert after The Office.

Jenna [00:20:29] I remember that.

Angela [00:20:29] Jenna, I went to my digital clutter because I was like, Oh, do I have a synopsis or a logline about our show? And I found it.

Jenna [00:20:37] Oh, share.

Angela [00:20:38] Robert and I pitched the show. It did not end up getting made. It was briefly bought, but then didn’t get made. And here’s the logline: A family in which everyone is single and overly involved in each other’s lives. Angela is trying to manage a house full of misfits while they all try to manage her dating career. Angela’s unique blend of mothering instincts, plus total naivete when it comes to dating, gets her into compromising situations with the guys she meets. Angela works with her best friend, Jenna, whose own family serves as a counterpoint to Angela’s, and she lives vicariously through Angela’s dating misadventures.

Jenna [00:21:19] Well, I want everybody to know how very hard it is to sell a show. That is not easy. I know this show didn’t get made, but the fact that you have sold your shows that you’ve pitched.

Angela [00:21:31] Yes!

Jenna [00:21:31] When you go out to pitch, Angela sells. She’s a great writer, great creator.

Angela [00:21:36] Awe, thanks! I actually had a lot of fun rereading it.

Jenna [00:21:39] Well, let’s get into this episode. We’re going to start with this cold open of Pam presenting Darryl with a card. We find out that his grandmother has passed away. Everyone has signed the card. Pam just wanted to deliver it.

Angela [00:21:54] Well, as Darryl starts reading the card, it’s clear that his coworkers didn’t even read the card. And they just wrote birthday messages.

Jenna [00:22:00] Yeah, it’s kind of a downer.

Angela [00:22:02] Yeah. I mentioned there was a DVD commentary, and on it, Greg shared that the idea of Darryl’s tear was something that they came up with right on the spot, on the set, in the moment. They put some stuff in Craig’s eye to help him tear up, and then he looked at camera at the end, and it was the perfect button. I should say, in addition to Greg and myself on the DVD commentary, there’s also Kelly Cantley, Ellie, Brian and Robert Padnick. And I’ll be sharing a few things from it along the way.

Jenna [00:22:29] Getting into the episode, we only had to sit through 9 seconds of opening credits.

Angela [00:22:34] Fast!

Jenna [00:22:34] Very fast, because there was a lot we wanted to fit into this episode.

Angela [00:22:38] There’s several love stories. Right away, Andy’s going to tell Darryl that he’s talking to Rachel. You know, he met her at Darryl’s party, and he’s going to be taking her out to dinner at Blue Wasabi.

Jenna [00:22:51] Yeah. Phyllis says they’ll make a burger for you if you cause a scene.

Angela [00:22:55] Yeah, she kind of throws that away. It’s kind of like tucked under.

Jenna [00:22:58] Well, we got a fan question from Daria R in Ontario, Canada, who said, Blue Wasabi is a sushi restaurant in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania. It is now permanently closed, but it looks like they don’t make burgers. So it’s funny that Phyllis mentioned that you have to make a scene to get one. I’ll have you know, there is a Blue Wasabi in Gilbert, Arizona that does have a Buddha burger on their menu. So you can get a burger at that Blue Wasabi, but not at the one in Pennsylvania that is now closed.

Angela [00:23:27] Well, maybe Phyllis went there and made a big ol scene, and now it’s on the menu.

Jenna [00:23:31] Perhaps Phyllis has been to Arizona.

Angela [00:23:34] We’re going to start the whole reason this episode was titled PDA with Michael and Holly. They’re kissing each other goodbye before they go back to their respective desks. They can’t get enough of each other. They even do this little shimmy kiss hug all the way back to Michael’s office. I want you to know that was improvised, the shimmy kiss. That was just Steve and Amy having some fun there.

Jenna [00:23:56] That backward scoot was my personal favorite. And I think if you look at one minute, 52 seconds, you can kind of see Ed Helms starting to break.

Angela [00:24:04] I’m sure.

Jenna [00:24:05] Because we weren’t expecting it and it was amazing. They would do different things each time.

Angela [00:24:11] I caught us breaking throughout this whole episode.

Jenna [00:24:13] I believe it. Next up, Erin is going to get a beautiful bouquet of flowers from Gabe. And when she opens the card, she realizes that there is going to be a romantic treasure hunt. Not to be confused with a scavenger hunt. This is a treasure hunt.

Angela [00:24:31] Yeah. Gabe has a talking head that says, I dominate Valentine’s Day. I practically make romance into a science. On the commentary, Greg shared that his note to Zach for this talking head was imagine he was like a UFC fighter, like a mixed martial artist, like kind of calling out to his other opponent, I dominate Valentine’s Day.

Jenna [00:24:54] Erin’s first clue is a puzzle. She’s going to have to put this puzzle together to figure out the next step in the treasure hunt. We got a fan question from Laura W in Lacrosse, Washington related to the puzzle that Erin and Andy are putting together. Laura says, When I was in college, I worked a lot of random odd jobs, and one of them was for a tiny custom puzzle making facility right here in Lacrosse, Washington. It’s a family owned and run business. They are the sweetest people. At one point, we were quizzing the owner on his weirdest custom puzzles, and he said they’ve gotten to make a few famous puzzles, including the one for this episode of The Office.

Angela [00:25:40] Hey!

Jenna [00:25:40] Laura says, Wisconsin doesn’t get a lot of movie magic opportunities, so shout out to Portrait Puzzles. Yes. Our set designer, Michael Gallenberg, took three photos and Phil Shea used Portrait Puzzles to make three different puzzles. Then Greg got to choose the one he liked best. The company Portrait Puzzles have been in business since 2005. They still make custom puzzles today. Anywhere from six piece postcard puzzles to 30 piece puzzles, a thousand piece puzzles. They ship to the U.S. and Canada and they range in price from $29.99 to $49.99.

Angela [00:26:19] Aww. We need an Office Ladies puzzle.

Jenna [00:26:23] I like this idea!

Angela [00:26:25] Yeah.

Jenna [00:26:26] Portrait Puzzles, we might be calling you.

Angela [00:26:28] Well, Jenna. I looked into my digital clutter for the week that we filmed this episode.

Jenna [00:26:32] Okay.

Angela [00:26:33] We were emailing each other.

Jenna [00:26:36] About what?

Angela [00:26:37] You want to hear?

Jenna [00:26:38] Yeah.

Angela [00:26:38] This tickled me so much. All right. Here’s our email exchange. First I emailed you and I said, Hey, I’m going to try a new recipe for dinner tonight. Here’s what I’m making. Spicy shrimp coconut rice. And then I sent you the recipe.

Jenna [00:26:56] Oh!

Angela [00:26:57] You wrote back, How spicy are you making it? I wrote back and said, Pretty spicy. I know. We’re such dorks. Then I wrote you and I said, Hey, I’m on set and Patrice has your Redbook. So Patrice was our set medic. She sat right by the back door as you walked in. Jenna, you were on the cover of Redbook magazine, and Patrice had bought it, and I wrote you, and I said, I just read your interview. It is great. Three exclamation points. I felt like it was such an awesome interview. And you look fantastic.

Jenna [00:27:32] Oh, my gosh!

Angela [00:27:33] So then I went and looked for the cover of the Redbook magazine. Jenna, you look amazing. I’m going to put it in stories. The article read: Jenna Fischer; Totally Candid and Too Cute. And this was the opening paragraph of the interview written by the writer Laurie Sandell. I have to gush on my BFF because I thought it was so adorable. This was what Lori wrote about meeting you. Jenna Fischer’s quote How I Met My Husband Story sounds like the plot of a quirky indie romance, which is fitting since they fell in love while working on one. I’m hearing all the details over dinner at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Rigatoni with short ribs for Jenna, tuna tartare for me. She arrived 5 minutes early for the interview. Unheard of in the celebrity world. Walking right over to me with a wide smile like she might be about to ask my advice on a Jim dilemma in dress pants, a gray cardigan, and a pretty red blouse. Jenna looks as all-American as two scoops of vanilla ice cream. And as we start to dish about love, fate, and favorite nail polish colors (she’s loving Essie’s Angora Cardi), I have to keep reminding myself that I don’t actually know her. She’s so laid back, she could easily pass for your fun friend from high school, just like on The Office.

Jenna [00:28:49] My gosh!

Angela [00:28:50] I know!

Jenna [00:28:51] I made a good impression that day.

Angela [00:28:53] Well, reading that made me smile because that’s exactly who you are, Jenna. You do feel like everyone’s best friend because you’re just such a nice, kind person. And you just-

Jenna [00:29:02] Why are you making me cry today? What is happening? What is going on? Am I. Am I dying?

Angela [00:29:10] No!

Jenna [00:29:10] Is this my memorial?

Angela [00:29:11] Stop it!

Jenna [00:29:11] This is so kind.

Angela [00:29:13] Stop it.

Jenna [00:29:14] Oh, my gosh.

Angela [00:29:15] I just was really happy that Lori wrote that, because that’s how I feel.

Jenna [00:29:19] I was not expecting that. I was just ready to talk about the scene of Oscar watching Michael and Holly do some hand sex.

Angela [00:29:29] Some heavy hand petting?

Jenna [00:29:30] Yes. Thank you. Thanks for digging that out. I actually completely remember doing that interview. I loved her. She was so nice. She felt like an instant friend, too. So, you know, she must have come into the interview with a warmth and it was disarming. And we had a lovely dinner.

Angela [00:29:47] Well, I’m going to put the photo in stories of you on the cover and the article. And I’m also going to put my spicy shrimp coconut recipe.

Jenna [00:29:54] Please do. I love my question was, how spicy?

Angela [00:29:58] Mm hmm. Real spicy.

Jenna [00:30:00] That was before texting. Now we would just text each other that.

Angela [00:30:03] I know. You guys, this is when we had flip phones.

Jenna [00:30:06] I love it.

Angela [00:30:07] Well, now, a very giggly Pam and Jim are going to arrive to the office via a cab. They are completely tooted.

Jenna [00:30:17] It’s true. We had a fan question from Rochelle R in Eldorado, California, who said, Please help settle a decades long friendly debate between my husband and I. My husband insists that you all are just incredibly talented actors. But come on, you and John were really drunk, right? Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me. Rochelle, we were totally sober.

Angela [00:30:45] They were totally sober. They just flippin’ crushed it. I have to brag on you one second here.

Jenna [00:30:51] What is happening?

Angela [00:30:52] Well, listen, now. I said this on the commentary, and as I rewatched and heard myself from years ago, I agreed with myself, which is it’s one thing to have to play drunk in one scene. That’s hard enough. You had to play drunk all week. All week. And you had to match the same tone.

Jenna [00:31:10] We also had a long conversation about how it feels to day drink and be a little tooted, as you would say, and then you’re slowly sobering up. And you know the kind of like it doesn’t feel great about 3 hours after you’ve done day drinking. You’re kind of tired.

Angela [00:31:28] Kind of ends in a nap.

Jenna [00:31:30] But that moment by the cab where Pam drops her scarf, guess I’m gonna pat myself on the back now, that was my idea on the day. So originally in the script, it was scripted that Jim was going to have a hard time counting the cash to the cab driver. That was how we were going to reveal that we were kind of drunk and we were giggling because Jim couldn’t count his money. But Greg wanted to move the camera into an extreme spy shot where they’re really catching us through the upstairs window.

Angela [00:32:00] So you wouldn’t see the counting. Yeah.

Jenna [00:32:02] It wasn’t reading. So we had to come up with something else because Greg really didn’t want us to see the camera. He didn’t want the camera down in the parking lot. So I am always dropping stuff like that when I have had a couple of drinks. So like in New York City, if Lee and I go out to dinner and I have a couple of glasses of wine, you can count on me leaving a glove or my scarf or something on the side of the road or in a taxi. So I pitched this idea and I managed to drop the scarf. And that whole bit, we kind of found that on the day. I’m really proud of it.

Angela [00:32:38] It completely sells it. Also, the way you stood back up. Like you could tell things got a little dizzy for you.

Jenna [00:32:44] Yes. Yes.

Angela [00:32:46] This next storyline really sets up Andy and Erin for the whole day.

Jenna [00:32:51] Mm hmm.

Angela [00:32:52] Erin is going to ask Andy to help her with her scavenger hunt.

Jenna [00:32:55] It’s a treasure hunt.

Angela [00:32:57] You know, I think I’m more on Erin’s side on this. I think it is a scavenger hunt.

Jenna [00:33:00] What’s the difference? Oh, I know the difference.

Angela [00:33:04] What?

Jenna [00:33:04] Okay. Scavenger hunt is when you have a piece of paper and you have all these different things you have to check off. So you’ve given those to your kids before, right?

Angela [00:33:13] Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Jenna [00:33:14] Yeah. So that’s a scavenger hunt, because you’re collecting multiple items or you’re checking off multiple items, like find some sticks, find a rock, find a penny, find a leaf that’s orange.

Angela [00:33:24] And it all builds into a little hut at the end.

Jenna [00:33:27] Well, it builds into nothing. That’s the point. A treasure hunt is one clue after another, leading to an ultimate treasure. A single item.

Angela [00:33:37] Oh, well, okay.

Jenna [00:33:38] So I guess Gabe’s right.

Angela [00:33:40] You know what? Whatever it is, it’s a lot of work.

Jenna [00:33:42] It is.

Angela [00:33:44] If you go to 4 minutes, 19 seconds, Andy is going to say, Okay, fine, at least until Stanley calms down. And Erin’s like, oh, is he? And he’s like, Don’t look! I accidentally did his Sudoku. And then there’s this shot of Stanley glaring at Andy. That was all scripted. Robert said he wrote this moment for his mom. He said his mom loves the character of Stanley and Sudoku, and he wanted to make sure that there was a funny Stanley moment in the script. He had been thinking about it from the day he was told he was going to work on The Office.

Jenna [00:34:20] That is so sweet!

Angela [00:34:22] I know!

Jenna [00:34:24] Oh, my gosh. I love that that moment was for his mom.

Angela [00:34:29] Yeah. Two of her favorite things, Stanley and Sudoku. Jim is now going to give Dwight a little Valentine, you know, like those ones that you buy for your kids, and they’re perforated and they’re little squares, and sometimes they come with candy? I guess Jim’s handing those out because he’s a little tipsy. But in deleted scenes, there was a bigger moment here. Jim goes on to give Dwight a compliment, and we find out what Dwight finds funny.

Jenna [00:34:53] Oh?

Angela [00:34:54] Here it is.

Jim [00:34:57] You know, Dwight, I don’t tell you this enough, but I think you’re really funny.

Dwight [00:35:02] Thank you?

Jim [00:35:04] Welcome.

Dwight [00:35:05] (TALKING HEAD) I’m not known for my sense of humor. That would appall me. But I have one. I find inversions of fortune funny, upside down houses, how a man spends his hard earned money on art, how a map distorts the size- tickling always makes me laugh.

Jenna [00:35:21] Tickling.

Angela [00:35:21] Tickling. I like that he would be appalled if he was known as funny.

Jenna [00:35:27] So now we’re going to go to the break room. And Angela, you have a very interesting line here.

Angela [00:35:33] Mm hmm.

Jenna [00:35:33] We got some mail about it.

Angela [00:35:35] Oh?

Jenna [00:35:36] This scene starts with Angela saying, I don’t know if anyone else feels this way- and don’t get me wrong, I love Michael and Holly- and maybe I’m being overly sensitive, but the PDA…

Angela [00:35:47] Yes. And for once, her and Oscar on the same page, she’s like, yes, the PDA.

Jenna [00:35:51] Oh, everyone’s so glad she brought it up. Well, we had a fan question from Becca in Northumberland, England, who said, Is it me or is Angela kind of out of character in the break room when she says, “don’t get me wrong”? Since when has Angela ever added a caveat to her opinions? I have to agree. You are being, like, so diplomatic in that moment.

Angela [00:36:16] Yeah, I agree, Becca. You know, if you listen to the commentary, we have a conversation about this, and Greg brings up the fact that one of the things he told me when I auditioned for the role of Angela was he said she’s the type of person that would say, “Well, I would never say anything about them, but…” And you know it’s coming. So I think this was on theme a little bit for who she is. But there is the sassy Angela that might have just said, Enough with the PDA.

Jenna [00:36:44] Well, I feel like she might say that to their faces. But when she’s leading the group discussion, she is, I don’t know.

Angela [00:36:52] She also wants the group on her side. So maybe she has to start out with a little bit of honey.

Jenna [00:36:57] Listen, we had another fan question from Jade M in Paris, France, who said, This was a really complicated episode for Europeans to follow because we do not know what PDA means. Not even Gabe in the conference room explains PDA.

Angela [00:37:13] Oh, my gosh.

Jenna [00:37:14] Now I know it means public display of affection, but my partner and I had to look for the meaning on the Internet. And then it suddenly made so much sense with all the Michael and Holly kissing.

Angela [00:37:27] I never even thought of that.

Jenna [00:37:28] Me either.

Angela [00:37:29] Well, Jade, the PDA is going to continue. It’s going to level up even. We should probably go to break because when we get back, Gabe’s going to have a meeting about it… We’re back from break, and Gabe says, Seeing as it’s Valentine’s Day, maybe we should have an impromptu meeting about romance in the workplace.

Jenna [00:37:51] Yeah, we pan around the room and Michael is sitting in Holly’s lap. She has her arms underneath his underarms, and she’s sort of doing that thing where she is his arms, but she’s also rubbing his chest.

Angela [00:38:04] Yeah, it’s like Michael body, Holly arms.

Jenna [00:38:07] Yes.

Angela [00:38:07] Did you notice where Angela Martin is sitting?

Jenna [00:38:10] Where?

Angela [00:38:10] Right next to them.

Jenna [00:38:12] That must have been so difficult.

Angela [00:38:14] They did that on purpose. On either side is Kevin, who’s really into it, and Angela, who’s completely grossed out by it.

Jenna [00:38:21] Jim and Pam are in the back corner. We had another fan catch from Daria R in Ontario, Canada, who said, At 6 minutes and 50 seconds, Pam does a huge yawn in the background. And then again, 7 minutes and 40 seconds. Yes, Daria, my yawns were scripted. That is what we talked about. That is drunk Pam, who’s coming down from her buzz I guess.

Angela [00:38:46] I guess I’m surprised she doesn’t fall asleep.

Jenna [00:38:49] I know. And she is tired.

Angela [00:38:53] Well, there is a joke coming up in the conference room. Greg mentioned it earlier and I had to give a shout out to the writer. When Kevin says, She goes to another school-.

Jenna [00:39:02] Mm hmm.

Angela [00:39:03] Robert Padnick shared that that joke was written by Danny Chun.

Jenna [00:39:07] Nice job, Danny. Michael and Holly are going to realize that this whole meeting is for them. They are the PDA that is making everyone uncomfortable.

Angela [00:39:18] They are shocked to hear this as they’re sitting on each other’s laps, like touching each other. Shocked.

Jenna [00:39:25] Yes. Yes. Michael agrees. Fine. No more PDA. Instead, we’re going to designate an office closet as a hookup zone. Dwight mentions there are so many people who might be hooking up. Michael agrees. They’re going to need three closets. My personal favorite moment here, this was totally scripted, is when Dwight says, What is your position on masturbation in the hook up closet? And Michael takes a long pause and then says, Pro. That was scripted. The pause was all Steve, and the pause really sells it. You can see Michael thinking about it. Pro.

Angela [00:40:06] Pro. There were so many things that made me laugh, like genuinely laugh out loud in this conference room. Just the phrasing when Dwight’s like, As has Ryan, as has Kelly, as has Meredith, as has Phyllis, as has Darryl, as has Creed, as has Michael, as has Holly, as has Kevin! is what Kevin yells.

Jenna [00:40:29] Yeah, this is when Jim and Pam realize they’re really the only people who have not hooked up at work.

Angela [00:40:34] Yeah, I can’t tell if they’re bummed out by it or just they feel like they need to be in the club.

Jenna [00:40:40] I don’t know. Pam gets a bee in her bonnet about it.

Angela [00:40:43] She does. Before we go to the break room where she starts to muse about where they can hook up, everyone, please do yourself a favor. When Dwight says, as has Creed, please look at Creed’s face. Please.

Jenna [00:40:59] We talked about this scene a little bit with Greg. It’s a wonderful spy shot of Jim and Pam in the break room. And Pam is going to get the idea that her and Jim need to hook up at work. I think one of the things about this storyline that really works is that it does seem really driven by Pam.

Angela [00:41:19] Yeah. And Jim’s like, okay.

Jenna [00:41:23] This is a total TMI question.

Angela [00:41:26] Okay.

Jenna [00:41:28] We don’t have to share any details.

Angela [00:41:30] Okay.

Jenna [00:41:32] Have you ever hooked up in a public place?

Angela [00:41:35] Yes.

Jenna [00:41:36] (SCREAMS) I don’t think I have. Oh, well, well, well. Moving on.

Angela [00:41:55] Take a sip of tea.

Jenna [00:41:55] Okay.

Angela [00:41:57] Move on.

Jenna [00:41:58] Moving on. Erin has solved her puzzle and they have moved on to the second clue, which is on the boom box in Darryl’s office.

Angela [00:42:07] Craig as Darryl is so funny in this scene. He’s like, pick it up, pick it up, pick it up, pick it up, pick it up.

Jenna [00:42:14] I know. They’re just talking. And he’s trying to work. At 8 minutes and 58 seconds, we have a Sticky Quip callback. Did you notice the “play me” is on a Sticky Quip?

Angela [00:42:27] It was also on the puzzle.

Jenna [00:42:28] I saw that as well. Also in the background over Andy’s shoulder is a photo of Darryl and his daughter. It is clearly taken from the Christmas episode. And I just want to give a shout out to Michael Gallenberg. He was always thinking ahead. He would grab people for photos and then he would give those photos to our set decoration team who would place them and personalize people’s desks or save it if we ever were to go to Darryl’s house, we would have that picture of Darryl and his daughter. It was just really smart.

Angela [00:42:58] So we talked a little bit with Greg about these scenes where all of the B-roll of Jim and Pam trying to find the places to hook up. And then of this really magical moment where Michael and Holly realize they love each other and they tell each other in front of the whole bullpen and then shake on it. There’s a very sweet Michael talking head afterwards.

Jenna [00:43:19] Oh. It’s so good.

Angela [00:43:20] I know. He says, Yeah, whatever. No big deal. Just the hottest girl in the world loves me.

Jenna [00:43:26] Mm hmm.

Angela [00:43:27] Oh, my gosh. I loved it. Kelly Cantley shared that NBC immediately put that talking head on a coffee mug.

Jenna [00:43:35] Really?

Angela [00:43:36] Yeah.

Jenna [00:43:36] Oh, my goodness.

Angela [00:43:37] I looked for it. I couldn’t find it. But I did find that quote on several things online.

Jenna [00:43:42] Andy and Erin are going to go in to Ryan’s little cloffice.

Angela [00:43:48] Mmhmm.

Jenna [00:43:48] This is the next step in the treasure hunt. There are these little glow in the dark, sticky stars all over the wall, all over the ceiling.

Angela [00:43:56] It’s so cute. It’s very romantic.

Jenna [00:43:58] Very romantic.

Angela [00:44:00] Kelly shared on the DVD that the glow in the dark stars were actually painted.

Jenna [00:44:05] Yes! Randy said that this was really hard to pull off and that the sticky stars were not showing up on camera when they tested it. And I guess they had to paint over them with a bunch of extra- what do you call it? Like glow in the dark paint.

Angela [00:44:22] Kelly said she thinks it was special paint like they use on the highway.

Jenna [00:44:25] Yes! Randy also said that they had to add tons of extra ultraviolet lights, including a special ring light that went around the lens of the camera.

Angela [00:44:37] Just so those would pop?

Jenna [00:44:38] Just so those would pop. They popped in the room, but when they did a camera test of it, you didn’t see it the way you wanted. So that was like a high effort gag.

Angela [00:44:48] Oh my gosh, when I first saw it, I was like, Oh, so cute. I have those in my daughter’s room on the ceiling.

Jenna [00:44:52] Yeah.

Angela [00:44:53] But no. Highway paint, guys.

Jenna [00:44:54] Highway paint.

Angela [00:44:55] As Andy and Erin exit Ryan’s little office, Jim and Pam were trying to get in there. They were going to have sex in Ryan’s office? Come on!

Jenna [00:45:06] I’m personally so glad that Ryan caught them, because since, you know, I’m Pam, I really think we would have regretted having sex in Ryan’s office. I feel like that’s a memory that Jim and Pam did not need.

Angela [00:45:23] Ryan’s smug look about it too. Pam is, like, so embarrassed.

Jenna [00:45:28] It turns out that Michael and Holly not doing PDA is more annoying than PDA.

Angela [00:45:35] Yeah.

Jenna [00:45:36] I love the scene where they are like air groping each other.

Angela [00:45:42] I will touch you here, but I can’t. So I will hold you here and I will touch you here.

Jenna [00:45:46] During this scene, we have our third catch from Daria R in Ontario, Canada. Daria, thank you. You have quite the eye. You should be an honorary member of Office Ladies.

Angela [00:45:58] And if anything, Mom Detectives.

Jenna [00:46:01] That’s for sure! Daria says, At 14 minutes and 30 seconds, we can see Angela watering the plants near Michael’s office. Dwight used to water the plants in the office. Why is Angela doing it now? Is he lagging on his duties because of volunteering and doing so much as the building owner? Did he assign the task to Angela? Angela, please speak to the plants.

Angela [00:46:24] Well, I share on the commentary that I’m pruning the plants.

Jenna [00:46:28] Oh.

Angela [00:46:29] I guess I started watering. Then I pruned. By the end of the scene, because we did it so many times, I said I actually felt bad because I had pruned all the dead things off and then I just started picking at new leaves.

Jenna [00:46:40] Oh no.

Angela [00:46:41] So I felt bad. I love the idea that Dwight and Angela water the plants. It also makes you question, why did Pam’s plant die?

Jenna [00:46:51] It doesn’t make me question it. It seems very clear that Angela would not water a plant on Pam’s desk.

Angela [00:46:59] Well, Daria, they put me there by the plant because they wanted a wide range of reaction shots to Michael and Holly. And you couldn’t see me way in that accounting nook. So they pulled me out to the plant. You’ll notice Darryl is at front reception as well.

Jenna [00:47:13] Well, I have, I guess, a Fischer tidbit.

Angela [00:47:15] Oh?

Jenna [00:47:15] I haven’t known where to bring it up, but maybe now’s the time.

Angela [00:47:18] You know I love a tidbit.

Jenna [00:47:20] Did you know that there is a restaurant called Public Display of Affection? It’s in Brooklyn, New York, and it is described as a trendy, compact eatery, serving creative pizzas, vegetable dishes and salads. Plus beer. Do you feel like you would be obligated to engage in PDA at the restaurant, Public Display of Affection? I’m curious.

Angela [00:47:43] No.

Jenna [00:47:45] Have you ever encountered an awkward PDA moment?

Angela [00:47:49] I mean, I don’t know if it was so much awkward as just the proximity of me next to the person doing it.

Jenna [00:47:56] That feels awkward.

Angela [00:47:58] Okay. Well, I also thought it was kind of sweet. Here’s the deal. We were in line to get on a plane. Me and Josh. And you know when you get in the um, what is that thing that attaches from the side of the building?

Jenna [00:48:11] Oh, that’s what the plane is on.

Angela [00:48:13] The tunnel that’s got the accordion door that attaches from the wall.

Jenna [00:48:17] Oh, what do they always call that? The jetway?

Sam [00:48:21] Bridge?

Jenna [00:48:21] The jet bridge?

Angela [00:48:24] I know someone’s going to write in and let us know what that’s called. So when you’re in that single file lane and sometimes whoever’s getting on the plane, if they’re taking a while, you kind of get stuck in that corridor tunnel thingy.

Jenna [00:48:37] Sure.

Angela [00:48:37] So we’re stuck in the corridor tunnel thingy and there was a couple in front of us. This is also a flight to Vegas, so maybe this is the tone. Maybe this is the mood people were in. But the guy just kept putting his hand on her like butt cheek and just giving a little squeeze. But like, we’d take a few steps, he’d give her a little squeeze. Then we’d take a few more steps, give her a little squeeze.

Jenna [00:49:02] Well, I think we know what he was hoping would happen in Vegas.

Angela [00:49:05] I think so!

Jenna [00:49:07] I have one that’s sort of- it’s an oral PDA.

Angela [00:49:11] What?

Jenna [00:49:12] So last year-

Angela [00:49:13] What?

Jenna [00:49:14] Yeah, I was, I know, I was skiing.

Angela [00:49:18] Okay.

Jenna [00:49:19] With my family, but they’re more advanced skiers than I am. So my husband and two kids, they had taken off to do some blue and black runs. And I said, I’ll stay here on the greens. So if you ski, you know that if you’re a single, you can go to a special lane for the lift.

Angela [00:49:35] Yeah. On the ski lift.

Jenna [00:49:37] Yeah, for singles. So if a group of three people come up and they need a fourth for the lift chair, you just hop on with them.

Angela [00:49:43] Someone made out on the lift chair? Come on!

Jenna [00:49:46] No. It wasn’t. It was. Nobody made out on the lift chair. But I got added to a lift. It was three singles. There was a man, and then there was another man in the middle. And then I was on the end. The guy in the middle gets a phone call. None of us are speaking, by the way. You know, we get a hi, hi, hi. Quiet. We’re on the lift. The guy in the middle gets a phone call.

Angela [00:50:09] No. No.

Jenna [00:50:10] He answers it.

Angela [00:50:11] And then does sexy talk?

Jenna [00:50:13] No.

Angela [00:50:13] Oh.

Jenna [00:50:14] He described in great detail to the person on the other end his hookup from the night before.

Angela [00:50:22] Get out.

Jenna [00:50:23] Like play by play.

Angela [00:50:26] Oh, my God. And you’re just stuck there!

Jenna [00:50:28] Just me and the other guy who are on either side of him.

Angela [00:50:32] Total strangers.

Jenna [00:50:33] Yes. We kind of leaned back and gave each other a look like, wow. This is a lot of information.

Angela [00:50:38] This is happening.

Jenna [00:50:42] But also the guy in the middle, in addition to telling his whole hookup story, was like, And dude, I am still wasted. I’m still wasted. I am so, like I am drunk right now. And we’re thinking, what is going on?

Angela [00:51:00] Why are you on a ski lift?

Jenna [00:51:02] So he gets off the ski lift and he turns to the guy next to him and says, How do I get to death drop?

Angela [00:51:09] What?

Jenna [00:51:10] He was going to go up to like the highest black and ski down.

Angela [00:51:14] Oh my gosh.

Jenna [00:51:15] I was like, do I say, do I get a ranger?

Angela [00:51:20] Can you report someone?

Jenna [00:51:21] I don’t know whatever happened to that guy, but that was sort of like that’s an oral PDA that I was subjected to.

Angela [00:51:28] I think you need a new term.

Jenna [00:51:30] What is it?

Angela [00:51:31] I think oral PDA is very off putting.

Jenna [00:51:33] I don’t know what to call it.

Angela [00:51:34] I think it’s a verbal PDA. Verbal.

Jenna [00:51:37] I hear you.

Angela [00:51:38] Yeah.

Jenna [00:51:39] I hear you.

Angela [00:51:40] I think it’s got to be a verbal thing.

Jenna [00:51:43] An audio. Audible.

Angela [00:51:44] Hoo. Ha. And here’s the thing, he had no idea he was sitting next to Pam from The Office because you have goggles and a mask and a hat and a helmet and it’s like.

Jenna [00:51:53] I ski in anonymity all the time.

Angela [00:51:55] I know.

Jenna [00:51:55] It’s pretty funny. Well, I wish I had Gabe on the ski lift to tell this guy to cut it out. That’s exactly what he’s doing in the next scene with Michael and Holly. He’s telling them they really have to cut it out.

Angela [00:52:06] Yeah. Well, Jenna, in the shooting draft, while this scene is going on with Michael and Holly and Gabe, back in the bullpen, everyone is kind of trash talking about Michael and Holly. Like this is too much. They’ve taken it too far. And Oscar is going to ask Jim and Pam their thoughts because they’re sitting there quiet. The scene is so great. It’s in deleted scenes. It’s maybe my favorite drunk Jim and Pam scene and it’s in deleted scenes.

Jenna [00:52:33] Oh my goodness.

Angela [00:52:34] I want you to hear it, but then I have to put it in our stories because it’s so spot on. Here it is.

Phyllis [00:52:43] Maybe we went a little overboard on Michael and Holly. I mean, really, were they that bad?

Oscar [00:52:47] Oh, well.

Angela Martin [00:52:48] Yes.They were horrible.

Oscar [00:52:50] Jim, Pam? Wouldn’t you agree that PDA in any form is inappropriate for the office?

Angela [00:52:59] Jim stands up to make a speech. He starts rolling up his sleeves. Pam starts rolling up her sleeves. Pam stands up.

Jim [00:53:07] Everybody’s points are really excellent. And I think at the end of the day, what we have to remember definitely is, what is reasonable?

Pam [00:53:16] No. I think that the most important thing is to just ignore everything he said. I’m kidding. I’m kidding. I love you.

Jim [00:53:27] I’m not. It doesn’t matter.

Pam [00:53:28] I’m I love him.

Jim [00:53:29] That’s okay.

Jenna [00:53:30] It’s just. It’s 100%. 100%.

Dwight [00:53:34] 100% what?

Stanley [00:53:34] What are you talking about?

Dwight [00:53:37] Hey, idiot twins. 100% what? What are you talking about? You didn’t answer the question.

Oscar [00:53:41] Do you feel stifled by our rules against public displays of affection?

Pam [00:53:45] Yes… No, no. No?

Jim [00:53:52] I think we should take a vote.

Stanley [00:53:53] What are we voting for?

Dwight [00:53:54] Do you even know what PDA means?

Pam [00:53:56] I’m with you.

Angela [00:53:58] It’s so funny. What you can’t see which you’ll see when I put in stories is Jim, when, when they ask, Jim stands up and Pam goes, What are you doing? And Jim starts rolling up his sleeves, and he goes, Sleeves. Sleeves. So then Pam starts rolling up her sleeves. And then he makes this big speech. And then Pam is like, yes. And then just starts laughing. It’s such a hot mess. It’s so good.

Jenna [00:54:23] You know, I loved doing these comedy scenes with John. We really had good comedic chemistry together. We we had that Jam brain, you know, we shared that brain. And so we really were like those people who can finish some one’s sentence. I always like knew where he was going. I could see it. It was so fun.

Angela [00:54:41] I can’t wait for you to see this scene because when he turns to you and says, Sleeves, sleeves, it’s just so ridiculous.

Jenna [00:54:49] Erin and Andy’s next stop on their treasure hunt is getting a sparkling cider at Hank’s.

Angela [00:54:58] I am anticipating a lip flap. Hank says, Look for a heart or some (BLEEP) in the break room.

Jenna [00:55:06] Yes, we got two notes from standards and practices in this scene.

Angela [00:55:11] Two?

Jenna [00:55:11] Mm hmm. So, first up, when Hank gives Erin the bottle of sparkling cider, we had to reach out to the cider manufacturer, Martinellis, to get clearance, which we did. But it also generated a note from standards and practices. The note was this: This is fine, but please avoid exposure of the logo and branding on the bottle. The brand itself doesn’t seem important to the storyline or joke, so sales would prefer that significant exposure be avoided.

Angela [00:55:43] Please, for the love of God, no significant exposure.

Jenna [00:55:49] They don’t want significant exposure of any kind.

Angela [00:55:52] No, I know.

Jenna [00:55:53] Of people, of labels.

Angela [00:55:55] It doesn’t matter.

Jenna [00:55:55] I’d like to say I disagree. I think seeing the Martinelli’s label makes it clear that it’s sparkling cider and not alcohol, and that is important to the storyline.

Angela [00:56:07] I agree. And had standards and practices read the shooting draft, they would know of this deleted scene where Erin shares about going wine tasting, even though she doesn’t like wine. It’s a real awkward experience for her. So this non alcoholic drink was intentional to the script. I have the deleted scene.

Jenna [00:56:26] Let’s hear it.

Erin [00:56:30] Oh, my gosh. You’re gonna love this story. So last Saturday, Gabe took me wine tasting.

Andy [00:56:34] You hate wine.

Erin [00:56:35] I know, but I’m trying to learn to like it. So, anyway, so the wine guy opens a new bottle. And he hands me the cork. And I don’t know what to do.

Andy [00:56:44] Well, I mean. Well, what did you do?

Erin [00:56:46] Well, I didn’t know what to do, so I put it in my mouth.

Andy [00:56:51] What?

Erin [00:56:51] I know. I thought you were supposed to taste it.

Andy [00:56:55] Oh, my gosh.

Jenna [00:56:58] That… That sounds like I am listening to Ed and Ellie talking. I have to be honest. Like, not that Ellie would do that, but that sounded so natural.

Angela [00:57:08] Well, they improvise quite a bit in that scene, so some of it’s scripted and some of it’s not. But standards and practices, you guys would have seen the dailies, right?

Jenna [00:57:19] The second moment from the scene that standards and practices had to comment on was Hank’s line. Angela, you’re correct. He says, And I’m supposed to tell you to enjoy a mid hunt break and look for heart stickers or some (BLEEP) in the break room when you’re through. And it was all supposed to rhyme, but I forgot how it goes. You get it. Here’s what they said: Please bleep Hank’s (BLEEP) remark completely, with no beginning or end consonant sounds, and blur the visible lip flap or stage him off camera.

Angela [00:57:50] A busy day for standards and practices that day.

Jenna [00:57:53] I know. That scene. Really. A lot of emails. You know, we were talking with Greg in the lobby after his interview and we were talking about our delight over standards and practices. And he said that doesn’t even happen anymore.

Angela [00:58:08] Yeah, it’s like a department that’s gone.

Jenna [00:58:11] We were so sad to hear it.

Angela [00:58:14] I mean, he said on streaming, for sure it’s gone. I don’t know about network.

Jenna [00:58:17] Yeah, he said there’s no blurring of the lip flap on Netflix.

Angela [00:58:20] No. There’s no snarky email. Well, we need to revisit the Michael and Holly storyline for a second because Michael’s really bummed. Something Gabe said has stuck with him, and it’s that Holly is eventually going to go back to Nashua.

Jenna [00:58:35] Yeah. And what does that mean for their relationship? Dwight’s trying to cheer him up.

Angela [00:58:39] He’s rocking him? Kind of rocking him in his chair.

Jenna [00:58:43] Yes. And then Kevin is going to make silly faces.

Angela [00:58:48] Yeah.

Jenna [00:58:49] We had a fan question from Chad E in Canada. At 17 minutes and 59 seconds, Michael wants to see more monkey. Go back to monkey. This seemed improvised. Was it scripted? Well, I looked in the script. The scripted scene ended after Michael says, I love it. So it was scripted that Kevin is going to make funny faces and then he acts like a monkey. And then Michael said, I love it. And that was the end. The whole rest of the scene was improvised.

Angela [00:59:20] Yes. Greg and Robert shared on the commentary that it was a scene that was added late. And at first they wrote that Jim was the one making the crazy faces. But then they realized that Jim actually is with Pam looking for a place to hook up. So he couldn’t physically be in both places at once. So they made it Kevin.

Jenna [00:59:39] I loved it.

Angela [00:59:40] Me, too.

Jenna [00:59:41] Erin is going to get her final treasure.

Angela [00:59:44] Be nine.

Jenna [00:59:46] It’s a cookie. And there is a poem on the back of the cookie that says she’s going to get her Valentine’s kiss.

Angela [00:59:54] Mm hmm. And then Gabe does the weirdest blow you a kiss I’ve ever seen in my whole life.

Jenna [01:00:01] He didn’t want to walk in and kiss her? The end of this treasure hunt, this whole treasure hunt, imagine you’re Erin. You’ve spent all day on all these things. I mean, she’s delighted because she spent it with Andy. But then at the end, could you imagine if the end of it was just Josh blowing you a kiss?

Angela [01:00:18] Through a window pane? But like blowing me a kiss that he kissed into his fist and then he kind of blew it he kind of like makes it go fluuuu.

Jenna [01:00:26] Yeah.

Angela [01:00:27] Like, what?

Jenna [01:00:27] I know.

Angela [01:00:29] Well, Gabe has made a science out of Valentine’s Day.

Jenna [01:00:31] I know. Gabe. A science of what? Meanwhile, Michael’s going to break up with Holly. You know what? Actually, he’s going to wait till tomorrow. He shouldn’t do this on Valentine’s Day.

Angela [01:00:43] No. And she’s like, We’re not breaking up. And this is that moment we talked about with Greg where Holly says, You know, they don’t get to decide our future. We will decide our future. The most precious look of relief and happiness comes over Michael’s face. It’s so sweet.

Jenna [01:01:02] And they’re going to go into the bullpen and they are going to announce to everyone that they are officially moving in together.

Angela [01:01:09] So I shared on the commentary, and I almost got a clip of it, and then I was like, Is that weird to play myself from ten years ago? Like, it’s probably weird so I’ll just share. I said, This is the first time that Michael has a real family outside of his Dunder Mifflin family. And Greg was like, You’re absolutely right. This is the beginning of Michael being able to separate from the work group.

Jenna [01:01:35] Mm hmm.

Angela [01:01:35] Because he’s happy finally at home.

Jenna [01:01:38] Yeah. He has a home he wants to go home to.

Angela [01:01:42] Yeah.

Jenna [01:01:43] You know? In the middle of this scene, Jim and Pam are going to enter from a door.

Angela [01:01:50] Mm hmm.

Jenna [01:01:51] The door by accounting, which has never been used before.

Angela [01:01:54] Read what I put in all caps on my document.

Jenna [01:01:57] From the magic door by accounting? First time ever!

Angela [01:02:01] Exclamation point.

Jenna [01:02:03] So we know what was behind that door. What was behind that door were the actual cast restrooms, the cast green room, where you could sit on some couches and watch a live feed of whatever we were taping. When they brought in network executives, maybe for a visit, it happened very rarely, they could sit in that room. When we had charity winners or when we had family visiting, they could sit in that room.

Angela [01:02:27] It was sort of for guests and cast, although the cast rarely used it. We never had the time.

Jenna [01:02:32] We were on stage.

Angela [01:02:34] We were on stage. But it’s definitely where you and I went quick like a bunny and went pee all the time.

Jenna [01:02:38] Yes, but we never have seen, even still, we will see in season nine, what the world of Dunder Mifflin says is behind that door. So Jim and Pam enter. We were originally supposed to enter through the front door. That is how it was scripted. That we sneak back into the office. And then later, when Jim and Pam have their talking head and we say we were taking a walk, then, you know, it kind of made sense. But on the day, we got in a big discussion with Greg, where we were like, where were we? You know? If we were coming in from the front door.

Angela [01:03:13] The whole point is to hook up in the office somewhere.

Jenna [01:03:16] Yes. And the warehouse would have counted. But we’ve already explained that Jim and Pam couldn’t find a warehouse spot. So we’re like, where are they coming from? He didn’t want us to enter through the kitchen, like, and have to plow through Michael and Holly.

Angela [01:03:30] Too much walking.

Jenna [01:03:32] And also, like, not very sneaky.

Angela [01:03:34] HmmMmm.

Jenna [01:03:35] So we picked that door. First time.

Angela [01:03:37] Magic door.

Jenna [01:03:38] And that is where Baby Phillip was made. Behind that door.

Angela [01:03:45] Well, this episode ends with what feels like to me like a When Harry Met Sally montage of people talking about romance or Valentine’s.

Jenna [01:03:52] Sure.

Angela [01:03:53] It starts with Dwight. He’s going to say his perfect Valentine’s Day is fielding calls from three different cell phones, from desperate people trying to purchase one of the 50 dinner reservations he made six months ahead of time.

Jenna [01:04:05] This is very Princess Unicorn.

Angela [01:04:08] Yep. Ryan is going to say, Anyone can be Prince Charming once a year. What impresses him is a guy that can do it no days a year. Kelly says, Flowers, diamonds, three course meal, private serenade from a violinist. Kevin says, Pizza, soda, the moon, someone to share it with. Michael and Holly say, Hmm, what are their plans tonight? Then Holly makes that (MATTRESS SQUEAKING NOISE) noise.

Jenna [01:04:33] Like the bed squeaky noise?

Angela [01:04:36] Yeah. There were even more as everyone else chimed in from the bullpen. And I thought you guys should hear them.

Angela Martin [01:04:43] The Senator is pampering me tonight. At 6:00, we’re having dinner at Maison L’orange, followed by homemade marzipan. And then at 8:30, he has to meet his aide, Thomas, to talk about work.

Oscar [01:04:56] I guess a little BBC America, a little Vietnamese food, a little pinot, a little Google Maps street view of Paris. C’est magnifique.

Meredith [01:05:06] I’m weighing my options. Probably going to bike down to the wharf. See what’s cooking down there.

Stanley [01:05:13] I will not buy a flower in a restaurant from a beggar. If you try to sell me a flower while I’m eating my chicken parm, you better cover your balls.

Jenna [01:05:24] Well, well, I loved those.

Angela [01:05:26] That’s, everybody. And of course, Jim and Pam have that very cute talking head together.

Jenna [01:05:31] Mm hmm.

Angela [01:05:32] Where they’re like, what? No. And then Pam has a little look to camera like, we did it.

Jenna [01:05:37] Mm hmm. So, Angela, before we wrap out this episode, I did have a really fun fan love story from Logan D in Bellevue, Nebraska.

Angela [01:05:48] Let’s hear it.

Jenna [01:05:48] I thought, what a fun way to end this Valentine’s Day episode.

Angela [01:05:51] I can’t wait.

Jenna [01:05:52] Logan said, I love this episode and it holds a special place in my heart. My partner, my soup snake, Diane and I met on Tinder, mostly because of my profile pic. What was the profile pic? It was me in a Dunder Mifflin shirt, Dunder Mifflin sweatpants, in front of a Dunder Mifflin sign at The Office Experience when it was in Chicago. Her profile said, I’m not superstitious, but I am a little stitious, and that she was, quote, looking for a Dwight to her Angela.

Angela [01:06:23] Awww.

Jenna [01:06:24] Well, we started talking because of that huge Office connection, and it turns out we are way more of a Holly/ Michael dynamic through and through. After a couple weeks of dating, we got even more Office gear and took a road trip to The Office Experience in Chicago. I know. We had a blast. When we got back home, the L word dropped. We fittingly told each other that we loved loved each other, and the rest is history. Our common love of the show is what brought us together and continues to bring us closer and closer over time.

Angela [01:06:57] Aww.

Jenna [01:06:57] Logan and Diane, congratulations on finding love through The Office. I love those stories.

Angela [01:07:03] Me, too. You guys, we hope you have the best week. That was it for PDA. And for you guys in the UK, public display of affection.

Jenna [01:07:12] Thank you so much, Greg Daniels, for coming in studio and joining us today. Thank you to Randy Cordray for all your fun tidbits.

Angela [01:07:19] And thank you guys for listening and rewatching with us. Next week will be answering our mail bag. See you then!

Jenna [01:07:25] See you then! Thank you for listening to Office Ladies. Office Ladies is produced by Earwolf, Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey. Our show is executive produced by Codi Fischer. Our producer is Cassi Jerkins. Our sound engineer is Sam Kieffer. And our associate producer is Aynsley Bubbico.

Angela [01:07:46] Our theme song is Rubber Tree by Creed Bratton. For Ad free versions of Office Ladies, go to Stitcherpremium.com. For a free one month trial of Stitcher Premium, use code: Office.