EP. 130 — The Cover-Up

OFFICE 130 – The Cover Up

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 [00:00:07] 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. Hi, Angela.

Angela [00:00:24] Hi there, lady.

Jenna [00:00:25] Hi, everyone.

Angela [00:00:27] Hi.

Jenna [00:00:28] Today we’re going to talk about The Cover Up. It is Season six, episode 24, written by Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg. We love them. And directed by our very own Rainn Wilson.

Angela [00:00:41] Rainn!

Jenna [00:00:41] Here is your summary. Michael becomes convinced that Donna, remember the manager from Sid and Dexter’s who bought all the printers last week?

Angela [00:00:50] How many? We don’t know.

Jenna [00:00:52] How many she needs, we’re not sure. But it turns out Michael was right. She was giving signals. They are full on dating. But today he’s going to become convinced that Donna is cheating on him.

Angela [00:01:05] Yes.

Jenna [00:01:05] And he’s going to ask Dwight to find out the truth.

Angela [00:01:09] I mean, this is Dwight’s Super Bowl.

Jenna [00:01:12] He’s so excited. He’s so excited he gets to go undercover.

Jenna [00:01:15] I mean, he, like, dives across the table in the break room when he gets the news.

Angela [00:01:20] That wasn’t even in the script. I wanted to see. I looked it up in the shooting draft. It just says Dwight sprints out. But that table move, that was Rainn.

Jenna [00:01:29] I believe it. Well, meanwhile, Darryl gets delayed revenge on Andy for a past issue that upset him. And he does this by making him think that Gabe is going to fire him for revealing the truth about the faulty Sabre printers. Turns out, sometimes they catch on fire.

Angela [00:01:49] Turns out, there might be something really happening.

Jenna [00:01:52] Fast fact number one is that Rainn Wilson directed this episode. Rainn directed three episodes of The Office, and this was his first. We reached out to Rainn.

Angela [00:02:03] Mm hmm.

Jenna [00:02:04] And he sent in some audio clips, which he recorded.

Angela [00:02:09] While driving.

Jenna [00:02:10] In traffic.

Angela [00:02:11] And you can hear at the end, it’s like accident up ahead. I was like, Rainn, maybe stop talking to us.

Jenna [00:02:20] All right. Here is what Rainn had to say about directing.

Speaker 3 [00:02:25] Hello there, Office Ladies. It’s me, your old pal Rainn. So I understand you’re doing The Cover Up in this week’s episode. How exciting. Dwight unleashed as a private detective to investigate Donna. A lot of great scenes in the gym with that great ending of Dwight leading the cycling spin class. A lot of people ask about what it’s like to act in the show while you’re directing. You know, the fortunate thing is that we, we were so familiar with the show at that point, it would have been impossible in the first three seasons. Impossible. You know, we’re still kind of learning the landscape and still discovering stuff about our characters and, you know, getting used to how everything’s going. But by season six, here we are, four, five, six. We get the show. We get how it’s shot, where to place cameras. It’s a lot easier. There’s always some scenes that are quite challenging and difficult to figure out how you’re going to cover them in a unique and interesting way. The thing I always said about the directing of The Office is like, the scripts are so good and the cast is so good and the camera crew is so good that you’ll always get at least a B-plus episode. So what the really good directors like Ken Kwapis and Paul Feig and several others were able to do is like take a B plus A minus episode and move it to an A. So you always want just those little touches, the little flourishes, the little improvs, the interesting ways to shoot things can kind of just raise the level a little bit. And that’s kind of always the goal as a director. I think Paul Lieberstein was an excellent director for The Office. He really got that, captured a lot of subtlety in the show. And what an amazing bounty for all of us to kind of flex our directing muscles and get an opportunity to direct. I learned so much.

Jenna [00:04:26] You know, it keeps coming up again and again with our directors, whether established or new, how great our crew and how supportive our crew was. And what a well-oiled machine we were at this point. I mean, Rainn’s really right.

Angela [00:04:38] Yeah. And we also really knew our characters.

Jenna [00:04:42] Well, I also asked Rainn what was challenging about directing. Here’s what he had to say.

Speaker 3 [00:04:48] It was challenging because, you know, you’re working with your cast mates and these are people that know you as an actor. So you have to be quite gentle and diplomatic in your notes and in your thoughts, because you’re working with your family, you know? You’re not all of a sudden Orson Welles, the boss. You’re a collaborator, offering a point of view on directing the episode. But I found it really fun to kind of put on the director hat and then put on the Dwight hat. But like I said, you can only do that if you’ve been doing it for many, many years and feel really comfortable in your character. You’re just able to slip on your character clothes and personality and point of view and and jump right in. Otherwise, it would have been extremely difficult. And we got a lot of support as actors moving into the director’s chair. It’s a delightful episode towards the end of season six. And had a blast and I’m glad you guys are digging into it. All right. All for now. Love you guys! Bye!

Jenna [00:05:51] I could imagine it would be really weird to direct people you’ve been hanging out with for six years.

Angela [00:05:59] Oh, for sure.

Jenna [00:06:01] But I loved this quote from what Rainn said. He said he saw himself as a collaborator, offering a point of view. I have to say, I feel like that encapsulates the whole tone of our show. We were all collaborators with a point of view.

Angela [00:06:16] And we had this safe place where we could share our point of view.

Jenna [00:06:20] Thank you Rainn for sending in those audio clips. It was very generous of him because he just got back from Iceland.

Angela [00:06:26] Yes, he literally just flew back from Iceland. Rainn, you braved jet lag to talk to us.

Jenna [00:06:32] What he was doing in Iceland is a new television show called The Geography of Bliss; One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World. I cannot wait.

Angela [00:06:44] I can’t believe this job. How do you get this job? I mean, Jenna, how? That is just, like, the coolest thing. He gets to travel all over and just be himself.

Jenna [00:06:55] Yeah, he gets to go to Iceland, Ghana, Japan, and more. And it says it’s a six part travel series where he will try to discover how changing your location and perspective can change your life. This is the greatest job of all time. Why didn’t we think of this?

Angela [00:07:11] It’s so awesome, Rainn. Rainn, we cannot wait to watch.

Jenna [00:07:12] Can me and you do The Geography of Bliss Part Two; Two Ladies Who Love Factories?

Angela [00:07:20] Yes.

Jenna [00:07:20] Can we do that?

Angela [00:07:21] Can it just be ladies who love factories? We’ll just travel the United States. We don’t even have to go far.

Jenna [00:07:29] I like this show.

Angela [00:07:29] I really like it.

Jenna [00:07:31] Call us. Anyone. Who makes shows.

Angela [00:07:34] Anybody.

Jenna [00:07:35] All right. Ange, fast fact number two. This show centers around Michael’s suspicion that Donna is cheating on him.

Angela [00:07:43] Mm hmm.

Jenna [00:07:45] So guess what I googled?

Angela [00:07:45] Um wait. Signs someone’s cheating?

Jenna [00:07:51] Oh, my gosh. Yes!

Angela [00:07:53] Really?

Jenna [00:07:53] Literally. Signs someone is cheating.

Angela [00:07:57] Let’s hear ’em.

Jenna [00:07:58] Did you look at my piece of paper?

Angela [00:07:59] I did not. I just, listen, I’m getting better at guessing your deep dives.

Jenna [00:08:04] All right. Well, according to Psychology Today, there are ten signs that your spouse or significant other is cheating. Number one.

Angela [00:08:12] Number one, what is it?

Jenna [00:08:13] This one is crazy.

Angela [00:08:14] What?

Jenna [00:08:15] Improved appearance.

Angela [00:08:18] Oh, they care now.

Jenna [00:08:19] Yeah. Are they getting gussied up each day in a new way that they haven’t before?

Angela [00:08:24] Did they put the sweat pants aside?

Jenna [00:08:27] Number two, are they having secretive phone or computer use? You know, like, do they sneak away to use their phone?

Angela [00:08:37] Oh, yeah.

Jenna [00:08:38] When maybe they didn’t before.

Angela [00:08:40] Stepping outside to take call kind of thing.

Jenna [00:08:43] Exactly, lady. Exactly.

Angela [00:08:46] I’m feeling very Mom Detective right now.

Jenna [00:08:49] Yeah. We should use this list if we ever have a case like this.

Angela [00:08:54] Oh, yeah. For our show.

Jenna [00:08:55] A checklist.

Angela [00:08:56] Yeah.

Jenna [00:08:56] We’ll check ’em off.

Angela [00:08:57] Check it off.

Jenna [00:08:58] All right. Number three.

Angela [00:08:59] Mm hmm.

Jenna [00:09:00] Are there periods of time when your significant other is unreachable? That would be part of our interview.

Angela [00:09:07] Turn the phone off. Not answering.

Jenna [00:09:12] I don’t know why you’re cracking me up so much. All right. Number four. This one feels like a tough one. Is there significantly more, significantly less, or different sex in your relationship?

Angela [00:09:30] Huh?

Jenna [00:09:31] Like, I kind of get it. If you’re married, you’ve got a bit of a sex routine at a certain point. Ya know, you’ve got your favorite moves, the old standbys, the ones that, you know are going to get you there.

Angela [00:09:45] Also, you know, your windows of opportunity.

Jenna [00:09:47] Right.

Angela [00:09:48] Especially if you have kids.

Jenna [00:09:50] Is there sudden spontaneity? Are they trying new moves? Where’d they get those moves?

Angela [00:09:56] Right.

Jenna [00:09:57] Or are they not even interested at all?

Angela [00:09:59] Not at all.

Jenna [00:10:02] I don’t know what is cracking me up. All right. We’re only on number five.

Angela [00:10:07] Oh, gosh.

Jenna [00:10:08] Is there hostility toward you in the relationship all of a sudden? Disdain. Are they annoyed? Number six. Do they have an altered schedule? Number seven, listen to this.

Angela [00:10:21] Okay.

Jenna [00:10:22] Do friends suddenly seem uncomfortable around you? And this is important because-.

Angela [00:10:28] As a couple? Like your friends?

Jenna [00:10:30] Just you personally. They say it’s because the betrayed partner is almost always the last to know.

Angela [00:10:37] So people know.

Jenna [00:10:39] And so then they, like, avoid eye contact with you or they’re real shifty. You know?

Angela [00:10:44] Yeah.

Jenna [00:10:45] Number eight, are there any unexplained expenses?

Angela [00:10:49] Mm hmm. Travel.

Jenna [00:10:59] This is your character for Mom Detectives.

Angela [00:11:01] Okay.

Jenna [00:11:01] Like, 100%. You are this person.

Angela [00:11:03] Okay.

Jenna [00:11:04] I will sit with the client and I will ask these questions. And you will say these things on the side.

Angela [00:11:09] Just one words.

Jenna [00:11:10] Yup.

Angela [00:11:10] Yup.

Jenna [00:11:11] All right. Here. On the next one let’s pretend we have a client.

Angela [00:11:14] Okay. Client is sitting next to you. I’m sitting across. Okay.

Jenna [00:11:18] Ma’am?

Angela [00:11:19] Mm hmm.

Jenna [00:11:20] Has the emotional intimacy faded?

Angela [00:11:23] Nothing happening in the sack. That’s not one word.

Jenna [00:11:27] It’s all right. It doesn’t have to be one word.

Angela [00:11:32] I- you know what I realize? My job is like I think I’m a translator.

Jenna [00:11:36] You’re translating my very clear questions.

Angela [00:11:39] Yeah. Do another one.

Jenna [00:11:40] This is the last one.

Angela [00:11:42] Okay.

Jenna [00:11:42] Number ten. Sign that someone is cheating. Has your partner been deflecting or avoiding being questioned about cheating? Like if you say, hey, where were you last night? Were you with someone else?

Angela [00:11:57] Where were YOU?

Jenna [00:11:59] Exactly.

Angela [00:12:00] What?

Jenna [00:12:01] That might mean they’re cheating.

Angela [00:12:03] There you go, guys.

Jenna [00:12:06] I think this is our first episode of Mom Detectives.

Angela [00:12:09] Someone is having an affair.

Jenna [00:12:11] We think. Maybe. Who knows.

Angela [00:12:13] That couple down the street on the left, the house with the green door. We’re going to get to the bottom of it.

Jenna [00:12:20] I like the idea that neither of them came to us either. There’s no client. It’s just our own snooping.

Angela [00:12:24] No. No. We’ve seen a new car parked out front.

Jenna [00:12:27] What’s that about?

Angela [00:12:28] Yeah. Gonna run those plates.

Jenna [00:12:31] How? We don’t have any contacts.

Angela [00:12:33] We’ll Google it.

Jenna [00:12:35] All right. Fast fact number three is straight from our mailbag.

Angela [00:12:41] Ooh, I love our mailbag.

Jenna [00:12:42] I know. I hadn’t been in the general folder for a while, and I took a peek, and here are two that I found delightful. First up, Stephanie from Sydney, Australia said, Did you ladies know that there is a song by Post Malone called Candy Paint? And in the lyrics they say, I love paper like a Michael Scott.

Angela [00:13:02] What?

Jenna [00:13:03] I just thought it was a fun thing for you guys to know about and to hear. The Office has even made it into some of the best known songs of this generation. Here’s an audio clip.

Post Malone [00:13:12] I love paper like I’m Michael Scott. I can do things that your man can not. Sad boy coming down down, I’m not. Everybody say that I gotta restart.

Jenna [00:13:22] I love it. Thank you so much, Stephanie, for telling us about that. Also, Tommy from Salt Lake City, Utah, and Hannah from Seattle, Washington, wrote in to say, Have you guys heard the song Netflix Trip by A.J.R.? It is a song where the singer outlines the major events of his life and how The Office tied in and influenced all of them. It finished by saying that so much of who he is as a person is contained in The Office, and it is more than just a show to so many of us. Here is a clip.

AJR [00:13:57] I had my first crush in season two. She’d pass me notes and fill our hands with glue. And in my corduroys we’d walk to school. I sat and crossed my legs like Jim would do.

Jenna [00:14:18] So it’s this really sweet song and he just goes through all of these different aspects of his life and major milestones, his first crush, that verse. But it’s like he’s watching The Office at the same time. And so many of his personal moments are tied in to his favorite moments on the show.

Angela [00:14:36] That’s just so cool.

Jenna [00:14:38] I know.

Angela [00:14:38] I can’t believe we’re on a show that keeps finding a home in people’s hearts like that. I know it’s in that Billie Eilish song, which is so cool.

Jenna [00:14:46] Yeah. Where she actually sampled parts of.

Both [00:14:48] Threat Level Midnight.

Jenna [00:14:49] Which we’re going to get to next season. We’re almost there. Season seven.

Angela [00:14:53] Oh, my gosh. Billie Eilish, when you come on our show for Threat Level Midnight?

Jenna [00:14:56] Billie Eilish. My daughter asks me once a week if we are going to have you on Office Ladies for Threat Level Midnight. And she has asked me if she can hide in the background of that zoom so that she can see you.

Angela [00:15:11] Aww.

Jenna [00:15:12] Every week she asks.

Angela [00:15:14] Well, I met Billie. And she’s a sweetheart.

Jenna [00:15:16] She’s the loveliest.

Angela [00:15:17] Billie. Come on by.

Jenna [00:15:20] We’ll have to reach out.

Angela [00:15:21] Mm hmm. And now for a DVD box set moment. I made it sound so official. For those of you with the DVD box set of The Office, you will know that the episode, The Cover Up starts the very last disc of the season. And since it’s the last disc, it has some really fun bonus features I thought I would share. In addition to the usual deleted scenes for the last three episodes, which are The Cover Up, The Chump, and The Whistleblower, it has 23 minutes and 41 seconds worth of bloopers from season six.

Jenna [00:15:57] Oh, all the season six bloopers are on there?

Angela [00:16:00] Yes. It was really fun to watch them. It also has a digital short called- Wait for it- drum roll, please. (DRUM ROLL).

Sam [00:16:13] You just asked for the drum roll.

Angela [00:16:14] I know. I don’t know how long the drum roll goes. Like, when does a drum roll end? Ding! Okay. It ended. It’s called… The Podcast.

Jenna [00:16:26] Oh, yeah.

Angela [00:16:28] We did a digital short called The Podcast. It is about Gabe on a quest to find a way onto the Sabre website. He wants to be on the Sabre website and he decides to do a podcast. It features Brian Baumgartner, Creed Bratton, Kate Flannery, Mindy Kaling, Ellie Kemper, Oscar Nunez, Zach Woods, and myself. It’s crazy. I watched the whole thing and I had completely forgotten that we did this digital short.

Jenna [00:16:54] Should we break down some of these things like the digital dhort, The Podcast, and the webisodes sometime?

Angela [00:17:01] I think we should as like a really fun bonus episode. Because they’re good!

Jenna [00:17:04] Yeah.

Angela [00:17:05] Also, this disc has all of The Office promos for the Olympics in Canada. One that I had not seen. It’s called Dwight’s Tribute to Canada.

Jenna [00:17:16] Oh, no.

Angela [00:17:17] You have to hear it. I can’t believe Rainn learned this.

Pam [00:17:22] The Olympics are in Vancouver. Is that British Columbia?

Dwight [00:17:26] Well, Pam, there’s really only a few things you need to know about Canada. There is Newfoundland and Labrador, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Prince Edward Island’s very small, but British Columbia tops them all. And that’s where Vancouver is. But before I finish up my story, you should know the territories. There are only three, so I’ll be quick. You come Northwest and Nunavut. If you want to have a ball, there’s Saskatoon and Montreal. And if you want to pack your sacks, we’ll be going off to Halifax. And if you’re looking for a wife, be sure to visit Yellowknife. Natural Resources! Perennial Geraniums, nickel, zinc, uranium are filling up my cranium. The exports that they boast. Keep going?

Jim [00:18:07] No.

Pam [00:18:08] Nope. Please. We good. Thank you.

Dwight [00:18:09] Ingrates.

Angela [00:18:09] Isn’t that amazing?

Jenna [00:18:12] I remember shooting that.

Angela [00:18:14] He had to learn that whole song.

Jenna [00:18:16] That’s pretty amazing.

Angela [00:18:18] I thought it was amazing. The last bonus feature on this disc is an episode from Parks and Rec that was written by Dan Gore and directed by Greg Daniels called Hunting Trip.

Jenna [00:18:27] Oh, that’s so cool.

Angela [00:18:30] So there you have it. Let’s take a break, because when we come back, Pam and Jim are going to be talking using some pens?

Jenna [00:18:38] Yeah.

Angela [00:18:38] Some pen talk. Well, we are back. It looks like Pam is purposefully tapping on her computer mouse. And then Jim is kind of clicking his pen. And Dwight is getting annoyed. But wait a second. He starts picking up on something.

Jenna [00:18:59] That’s right.

Angela [00:19:00] Mm hmm.

Jenna [00:19:01] Are Pam and Jim communicating in Morse Code?

Angela [00:19:05] Dwight thinks so.

Jenna [00:19:06] Pam and Jim are like, that’s ridiculous.

Angela [00:19:09] Mm hmm.

Jenna [00:19:10] But then they have a super cute talking head.

Angela [00:19:12] They do. And I just want to say that Jim steals one of Pam’s moves.

Jenna [00:19:17] What’s that?

Angela [00:19:18] He starts with, Yup.

Jenna [00:19:22] It turns out that with their limited time and resources, they did hire a nanny so that they could take a course on speaking in Morse Code just to drive Dwight crazy. That’s exactly what they did. Lady, we got so much mail about this cold open, and it sent me down a number of roads. Let’s start with the fan mail flurry.

Fan Mail Flurry Sting [00:19:44] Brrr. It’s a fan mail flurry.

Jenna [00:19:47] That’s right. Katie A from Nashville, Tennessee, Cammy D from Richmond, Virginia, and many others would like to know, Did John and Jenna have to learn Morse Code for the cold open? And if so, what were you guys saying? Well, here’s what I’ll tell you. Lindsey G from Texas has the answer.

Angela [00:20:05] Okay.

Jenna [00:20:06] Lindsey says, My husband Jason is a licensed amateur radio operator. And when I introduced him to The Office, I showed him this episode. Jason let me know that Pam and Jim are saying random letters and characters, but nothing that matches the actual script. Yes. Lindsay, Jason, you are right. We did not learn anything for this scene. We randomly clicked our pen. And if you look at the script, it doesn’t even tell us how much to click our pen. It just says we’re clicking.

Angela [00:20:35] Right.

Jenna [00:20:35] Just click away.

Angela [00:20:36] This is like that moment when I took my dad to see Armageddon. Starts out they’re drilling engineers, and my dad just sat there and kept going, Never happen. That’d never happen. Hmm-mm. That’d never happen.

Jenna [00:20:51] That’s right. Lindsay went on to say, Some radio info for you: my husband has had his license since he was 11 and learned from his dad. When he got his license in the U.S. it was required to pass the Morse Code test. Today, it is not required to know Morse Code to get your radio operator license. Yet he frequently uses Morse Code in radio contests and knows it as well as he can speak English.

Angela [00:21:15] Wow.

Jenna [00:21:16] She said there are several Morse Code and voice contests throughout the year, one of the biggest being Field Day, which happened every summer. Field Day is meant to be a practice run for radio operators in emergency situations.

Angela [00:21:30] That’s so cool.

Jenna [00:21:31] Very, very cool. All right. Next up from the mailbag about the cold open, from Julia T in Orange, California. Can we talk about the way John Krasinski says pen in the cold open? Julia, we can, but first I think we should give it a listen.

Angela [00:21:47] We should.

Michael Scott [00:21:48] Jim, are you clicking a detonator?

Jim [00:21:52] It’s a pen.

Jenna [00:21:53] Well, Ange, what do you think? Did you hear it?

Angela [00:21:56] He says pin.

Jenna [00:21:58] But he says more like pin. Like instead of pen, he says pin. Do you say pin or pen?

Angela [00:22:05] I say pin. But that’s when, you know, I’m sort of just letting myself be a little lazy with my accent.

Jenna [00:22:12] Mm hmm.

Angela [00:22:13] But if I try to think about it, I would say pen. Pen. Right? Am I saying it right?

Jenna [00:22:19] Pen.

Angela [00:22:19] Pen. But I have to think about it. If I don’t think about it, I just say, can I borrow your pin?

Jenna [00:22:24] Yeah.

Angela [00:22:25] Yeah. He also says D-wight. He says D-wight and pin.

Jenna [00:22:29] Well, there’s another thing he says, too, but I’ll bring it up later. All right. Finally, we got this fan question from Alan J in Salt Lake City, Utah. In the beginning of this episode, the pen that Jim is clicking is a Parker Jotter made by the Parker Pen Company. I’ve noticed this pen in several episodes of not only The Office but Parks and Rec, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and the Good Place, all of which Mike Schur has had his hand in. Are these pens used by Mike Schur personally or in all of his projects? Or is it just a random prop coincidence?

Angela [00:23:06] Well, all of those shows are NBC shows.

Jenna [00:23:09] True. I emailed Mike Schur.

Angela [00:23:11] What did he say?

Jenna [00:23:13] Can you imagine?

Angela [00:23:13] He must think we are so weird. Hey, Mike, do you have a signature pen on all of your shows? Thanks, k bye!

Jenna [00:23:21] Yes, I sent the fan question, and he said he does not know anything about this pen. But then he admitted, quote, My family owns 28.5% of Parker Pen Company and it’s a total boondoggle product placement. He’s kidding, of course.

Angela [00:23:36] He is kidding. He is kidding.

Jenna [00:23:38] Well, I got a little curious about this Parker Jotter pen. They retail for about $12 each.

Angela [00:23:43] Pricey.

Jenna [00:23:45] And here is where my curiosity led me. There is a podcast.

Angela [00:23:50] Mm hmm.

Jenna [00:23:50] Called The Pen Addict.

Angela [00:23:53] Really?

Jenna [00:23:54] Yes.

Angela [00:23:55] And these are people that are pen aficionados.

Jenna [00:23:58] It is a podcast about pens and stationery, hosted by Brad Doughty and Mike Hurley. They have done over 500 podcast episodes about pens.

Angela [00:24:09] Wow.

Jenna [00:24:11] Yes. They also have a website and they did a review of the Parker Jotter ballpoint pen.

Angela [00:24:18] Tell me you’re going to share the review.

Jenna [00:24:20] You know I am.

Angela [00:24:21] Yes.

Jenna [00:24:22] Here’s what they said about Jim’s pen. Quote. The all aluminum body is made in France. It is quite small and slim, so it may not be comfortable for long writing sessions if you have large hands. But listen to this.

Angela [00:24:39] Okay.

Jenna [00:24:40] Listen to this. Quote. This pen has one of the most satisfying clicks I’ve ever experienced. It’s loud, solid, and has a good amount of resistance. You could drive people crazy with this click. And I love it. End quote. I’m sorry. Did we pick the perfect pen for this episode based on that review?

Angela [00:25:04] Yeah.

Jenna [00:25:04] If you need a pen that you have to click to drive your coworker crazy, head on over and pick up the Parker Jotter.

Angela [00:25:13] I also love that this podcast has a click rating. Like a click meter. That’s amazing. I loved every second of that, lady. Well, at the very end of this cold open, they are no longer clicking or tapping. They’ve started blinking at each other.

Jenna [00:25:29] That’s right.

Angela [00:25:30] Did we all catch the wink to camera from Jim at the very end?

Jenna [00:25:33] Of course. It was adorable.

Angela [00:25:35] It was so cute.

Jenna [00:25:36] Well, we’re going to open this episode with Michael and Donna making out in the lobby in front of Hank, played by the lovely Hugh Dane.

Angela [00:25:44] Yes. I had to walk past them as they made out.

Jenna [00:25:47] What was that morning of shooting like?

Angela [00:25:49] It was so, it’s just so odd, you know? It’s just always weird. You just kinda walk by. They didn’t do very many takes. That I remember. We got that pretty quickly.

Jenna [00:26:00] I love how Hank is like eating his bowl of cereal.

Angela [00:26:04] I love everything Hank does. Every choice. Everything about Hank is the best. Michael has a talking head here where he says things with Donna are going great on every level. Like, he’s not used to relationships going this well. And he’s having trouble focusing on his job.

Jenna [00:26:21] Well, that’s going to become clear in this episode.

Angela [00:26:23] Oh, yeah. But, you know, one of my favorite things to do is to go to the candy bag alts of talking heads. Here’s Michael’s alternate talking head for this moment. Things with Donna are going great. I’ve had good relationships before, but never with another manager. I think that makes all the difference. We co-manage our love. Profits are through the roof! I thought it was so cute.

Jenna [00:26:50] This is reminding me of the one you shared last week.

Angela [00:26:54] Yes.

Jenna [00:26:54] He kept getting, like, stuck on this idea that they’re both managers.

Angela [00:26:58] Yes. He’s very enamored by that. She gets him in a way maybe no one else has.

Jenna [00:27:04] We’re going to go into the conference room now. Michael has called a meeting. To ask everyone for ideas of things that him and Donna can do on the weekends besides have sex. It’s just been so much sex.

Angela [00:27:16] I know. Any ideas? In the shooting draft, everyone quickly threw out suggestions. Here’s how it was scripted. Stanley said, I have an idea for your weekend. Let me go back to my desk right now. Andy said, Apple orchards. Oscar said, Hiking. Maybe a picnic. Ryan said, Learn one skill. Touch one life. Angela said, Make soup. You can eat all week. Erin said, Popcorn. And then Meredith said, You and Donna should hit the Poconos. Heart shaped Jacuzzis. Room enough for three. So that’s how it was in the shooting draft. Course in the actual scene, there’s a variation of that. But I thought that was fun.

Jenna [00:27:58] Well, at 3 minutes and 20 seconds when Meredith said the Jacuzzis have room enough for three, did you see Ryan’s reaction? Like, he’s not even fully on screen, but it made me laugh. He has this expression where he’s like, that’s not a bad idea.

Angela [00:28:11] Yeah. Well, he’s been working that angle with Kelly. You know, there was a whole deleted runner after Andy and Erin broke up where Kelly and Ryan hit her up for a threesome.

Jenna [00:28:22] What?

Angela [00:28:23] Yes. This was a whole runner in Secretary’s Day, towards the end of the episode when people are trying to comfort Erin. This is Ryan and Kelly’s way of comforting her.

Jenna [00:28:32] You did not share.

Angela [00:28:33] I didn’t share.

Jenna [00:28:35] Um. That is news to me.

Angela [00:28:35] Well, there you have it.

Jenna [00:28:37] We had a fan catch from Ray H in Jacksonville, Florida, who says, Michael says he and Donna went to the P.F. Chang’s in Mount Pocono, but there isn’t one in Mount Pocono. The nearest P.F. Chang’s is in Philadelphia, and it’s about an hour and 48 minutes away from Scranton. And now here is my other audio clip about how people say things.

Angela [00:28:58] Oh.

Jenna [00:28:59] We got a fan catch from Julia T in Orange, California, who says, Okay, I have become the rum tracker. All of the Massachusetts people say rum instead of room. John, Steve, Mindy, and B.J., and we hear a big old rum from Ryan in his talking head. Here it is.

Ryan [00:29:21] Does she keeps her phone locked around you, Michael? Does she watch how much she drinks around you, Michael? Does she leave the room when she takes phone calls?

Jenna [00:29:28] There it is. Did you hear it? Does she leave the rum?

Angela [00:29:31] Rum. That’s such a fun catch. I love it.

Jenna [00:29:33] So here’s what Ryan is talking about. In this conference room meeting, everyone starts wondering, like, why do you have to go to these weird places to be with your girlfriend? Is she avoiding someone? Is she cheating on you?

Angela [00:29:45] Kelly is the first person to pick up on this. Kelly says, Why did you go to that one? It’s so far. And then she’s like, Ryan used to do that to me.

Jenna [00:29:55] Yeah.

Angela [00:29:56] Yeah.

Jenna [00:29:57] Pam tries to be a voice of reason, but by the end of this conference room meeting, Michael is now convinced that Donna is cheating on him.

Angela [00:30:03] Yeah.

Jenna [00:30:04] It happened so quickly.

Angela [00:30:05] Oh, yeah. Pam says, Michael, do not let your imagination run out of control. Michael says, Well, that’s easy for you to say. You have a bad imagination. It’s stupid. I live in a fantasy world.

Jenna [00:30:21] Now Michael is going to do something that he should know better.

Angela [00:30:24] Oh, Michael, Michael. He is going to go in the break room. And I titled this scene, Whispers in the break room? Anyone want to write a song called Whispers in the Break Room? He goes up to Dwight and gets, like, in his ear. So much so that Dwight’s like, ehh, what are you doing? And he whispers, I want someone to follow Donna. I want her tailed. I need the name of a good private investigator. And Dwight is going to give Michael his business card with rates. This scene was longer. It was in the shooting draft. And this is how good our scripts come in. As I was reading the shooting draft, I started laughing out loud just because this is so absurd. Listen to this. I have to share it. Dwight goes through his wallet, removes a card. Michael: This is you. Dwight smiles to camera. Proud. Yes, it is. I used your card guy. Michael: Wade? Is he still at the mall? Dwight: He doesn’t have a kiosk anymore. He’s just working out of the food court. Michael: Well, what do you charge? It’s just- I love that he’s like, Wade in the food court. You know, the card guy.

Jenna [00:31:36] I love it that Dwight says that he charges $100 a day plus expenses. Michael says he’ll give him 50. Money is no object.

Angela [00:31:44] I know.

Jenna [00:31:45] Then, of course, Dwight’s going to scoochie across the table. He’s on it.

Angela [00:31:50] He’s so excited. Well, Jenna, in the episode now, Andy is going to get a call about a printer that caught on fire.

Jenna [00:31:58] Yeah.

Angela [00:31:59] In the shooting draft, after Andy gets the phone call, rather than turning to Stanley or Gabe, the first person he goes to is Kelly.

Jenna [00:32:07] Oh?

Angela [00:32:07] Yes. He wants to know if a client has called customer service complaining about faulty printers.

Jenna [00:32:13] Makes sense.

Angela [00:32:14] We learn a lot about Kelly’s attention to detail in this scene, and I thought we should hear it.

Jenna [00:32:19] All right.

Andy [00:32:20] Hey, Kelly, have you been getting any calls about the Sabre GH400 printers?

Kelly [00:32:25] Yeah, people hate them.

Andy [00:32:26] Really? Has anyone said that they, like, blow up or anything?

Kelly [00:32:29] I can’t remember.

Andy [00:32:30] Can you check?

Kelly [00:32:31] Where?

Andy [00:32:33] Your records?

Kelly [00:32:35] Okay, I don’t keep records, per se.

Andy [00:32:36] Well, like in your files, whatever his would be.

Kelly [00:32:41] Those are empty.

Andy [00:32:43] How do you do your job?

Angela [00:32:48] You know the bank of file cabinets next to her desk we see in all the episodes? They’re empty. There’s nothing in them.

Jenna [00:32:56] I love that he says, How do you do your job?

Angela [00:32:58] I know.

Jenna [00:33:00] Lady, do you know that I worked as a customer service representative on a complaint line?

Angela [00:33:05] Oh, no. How was that?

Jenna [00:33:07] It was for a major soda company. I won’t say which one.

Angela [00:33:10] Can I guess?

Jenna [00:33:11] No. I feel like I shouldn’t say which one.

Angela [00:33:13] Oh, come on!

Jenna [00:33:14] You can guess off air.

Angela [00:33:15] Oh, you guys.

Jenna [00:33:17] So it was my job to sit.

Angela [00:33:20] Shmepsi?

Jenna [00:33:21] I’m not going to say.

Angela [00:33:22] Shmoca Smola?

Jenna [00:33:22] I’m not going to say.

Angela [00:33:23] Okay, okay.

Jenna [00:33:25] The best part of the job was that I got free soda. They had free fountain sodas in the cafeteria.

Angela [00:33:30] Oh. Perks.

Jenna [00:33:31] It was located in a very kind of remote area. So you couldn’t leave at lunchtime. Your choices were bring something or go to the cafeteria. But you got free soda all day.

Angela [00:33:42] And you worked the complaint line.

Jenna [00:33:43] I worked the complaint hotline for two weeks as a temp when the person who normally worked there was on leave. I had a little bit of training.

Angela [00:33:54] Mm hmm.

Jenna [00:33:55] A little bit of training.

Angela [00:33:56] Like half an hour.

Jenna [00:33:58] It was like a day. But basically there was a binder. They explained, you answer the phone, you listen to the complaint, you take it seriously, you log it, and then you offer to send the person coupons for free soda. As a way to apologize for whatever inconvenience they have had.

Angela [00:34:15] And now did they have a script? Because, you know, I worked in telemarketing and you usually have a script when someone calls to complain that you follow.

Jenna [00:34:21] There wasn’t really a script, but there was a binder that outlined the top complaints and suggested responses. So for example, the top complaint at the soda company was someone has found a piece of glass or other object in their soda.

Angela [00:34:38] Okay.

Jenna [00:34:39] And the response to that was, our sodas are canned in a glass free environment. Most likely the cases were stored next to some kind of broken glass. And then when you opened the soda, it fell in. But there’s really no way that we canned it with glass. But we are so sorry even still.

Angela [00:35:03] We’ll send you a coupon.

Jenna [00:35:04] We’re going to send you the coupons. And then the second most common was there is a bug in my soda. Same response.

Angela [00:35:15] There’s no bugs in the soda factory.

Jenna [00:35:17] Right. The third most popular complaint.

Angela [00:35:20] Okay.

Jenna [00:35:21] Applied only to their diet soda.

Angela [00:35:23] Okay.

Jenna [00:35:25] And it was, there is a gelatinous slug like creature in my diet soda. When you look in the binder…

Angela [00:35:36] Is it alive?

Jenna [00:35:38] No? Everyone who called about it was like, I can’t tell what it is. It’s like a gelatinous sort of thing in my soda. I don’t know what it is.

Angela [00:35:50] Oh, my God.

Jenna [00:35:52] The third most popular complaint. Do you know what the binder said?

Angela [00:35:57] No.

Jenna [00:35:57] The binder said, We have no explanation for this. Offer coupon.

Angela [00:36:03] So they knew. They knew in the diet soda there could be a gelatinous thingy.

Sam [00:36:08] This is a Mom Detectives.

Jenna [00:36:10] When I read that, I was literally sipping their diet soda.

Angela [00:36:13] Wow.

Jenna [00:36:15] I’ll say I continue to drink their diet soda even with this insider info.

Angela [00:36:19] Have you ever found a gelatinous thingy?

Jenna [00:36:21] I have not. One of the hypotheses was like there’s something in the ingredients of the diet soda that if for some reason that soda has gone from very extreme high temperatures to extreme low temperatures and back again, can cause it to, like, congeal. And that’s what that gelatinous thing is. It’s just like a congealing of some chemicals. But they don’t know.

Angela [00:36:46] They don’t know. Well, that sounds like the soda that would exist in Stranger Things. Oh, my gosh. The season is so scary.

Jenna [00:36:56] Anyway, I really love my job there. It was great.

Angela [00:36:59] I have a feeling you were better at recording files and documenting things than Kelly.

Jenna [00:37:04] I was. I mean, we had to keep very detailed notes. But you know one thing I did do? Should I admit this? I told my friends and family that if they called me, I could send them coupons for free soda.

Angela [00:37:14] You were workin the system, lady.

Jenna [00:37:16] I did.

Angela [00:37:17] Well, one of the things that cracked me up about this scene between Kelly and Andy, which would only have supported his whole theory, is that Kelly’s like, Oh, yeah, they hate those. Like, people are calling in, they hate the printers. They hate them.

Jenna [00:37:30] This is going to become the beginning of an arc, though.

Angela [00:37:32] Mm hmm. Well in the script, in the episode that aired, Andy goes instead to Gabe and says, Hey, someone called said the printer caught on fire. And Gabe acts weird.

Jenna [00:37:45] He’s very distracted. He’s looking for almond butter.

Angela [00:37:48] Yeah. Gabe really wants a jam sandwich.

Jenna [00:37:50] Yeah. I have a question.

Angela [00:37:52] Mm hmm.

Jenna [00:37:52] Who buys the food for the kitchen?

Angela [00:37:54] I mean, I have thought this for years.

Jenna [00:37:57] I mean, I just assume people brought in what they wanted and kept it there. But Gabe’s question sort of implies that there’s someone stocking the kitchen with stuff.

Angela [00:38:07] It certainly looks like it in this episode. If you look at the counter, there’s all this variety of tea. So many different kinds of tea.

Jenna [00:38:14] Well, you would notice that.

Angela [00:38:16] Well, yeah.

Jenna [00:38:16] You love tea.

Angela [00:38:17] I love tea. Hmm.

Jenna [00:38:19] Anyway, well, listen, Darryl overhears all this, and he says to Andy, Did you think that was weird? Gabe’s acting weird. I think he’s hiding something. He plants the seed.

Angela [00:38:29] Mm hmm.

Jenna [00:38:30] Well, we’re going to find out why in Darryl’s talking head.

Angela [00:38:34] Oh, yeah. Darryl’s been holding on to something for two years. I guess Andy blamed the warehouse for a late shipment that Andy forgot to process, and Darryl almost lost his job. And he was mad, but he was like, You know what? I’m going to be patient. And I’m going to get my revenge on Andy.

Jenna [00:38:51] We had a fan question from Kim C in Langley, British Columbia, Canada, who said, How is there a window in Darryl’s office? The building has to be bigger than that. There cannot be windows on both sides of the building because the warehouse seems way bigger. Kim, thank you. Thank you for writing in. This window, from the time we saw it behind what was Jim’s desk, now Darryl’s desk, has bothered me. It does not fit with the architecture of this building. It is the only window right there. Like if you follow that window over, now you’re in the bathrooms. And if you keep following it over, you’re in Kelly’s Nook. Kelly doesn’t have a window.

Angela [00:39:31] No.

Jenna [00:39:32] In fact, Kelly, next to her desk, has a door.

Angela [00:39:34] She has an exit door.

Jenna [00:39:36] Similarly, if you track over to accounting, they have a door. That we’re going to find out later goes to a room!

Angela [00:39:41] Right.

Jenna [00:39:42] Right. So if you follow the wall that we’re talking about behind Darryl-

Angela [00:39:47] There’s no windows.

Jenna [00:39:47] It’s the only window. It makes no sense. But I have been, like, afraid to question it because I’m thinking, was that just because I know what’s behind there? Like, what’s behind there are the bathrooms.

Angela [00:40:02] And a walkway.

Jenna [00:40:03] Real working bathrooms that we would use.

Angela [00:40:04] Yes. And a walkway in the soundstage. You could walk behind that wall to get to, like, food and stuff.

Jenna [00:40:10] Yeah. So I’m like, I know the building is bigger. But anyway, Kim, I feel validated. Thank you for writing in.

Angela [00:40:17] Kim, thank you for validating Jenna.

Jenna [00:40:19] I needed it.

Angela [00:40:20] We’re going to start Dwight’s undercover work. He’s going to find Donna in the parking lot of her gym.

Jenna [00:40:27] That’s right.

Angela [00:40:28] This initial meeting in the parking lot was longer. It’s in deleted scenes. Listen to how Dwight kicks off his investigation, which relies on him wooing Donna. Listen to how smooth he is.

Dwight [00:40:44] Hey, stranger.

Donna [00:40:45] Oh, hi. You work for Michael.

Dwight [00:40:47] I work with Michael.

Donna [00:40:49] Right.

Dwight [00:40:49] Dwight Schrute.

Donna [00:40:50] Donna. Hi.

Dwight [00:40:51] How are you, Donna?

Donna [00:40:52] Good. How are you?

Dwight [00:40:53] Good. Oh, it’s beautiful, isn’t it?

Donna [00:40:56] What?

Dwight [00:40:58] That cloud.

Donna [00:40:58] Which cloud?

Dwight [00:41:01] It’s a cloud of gnats. I could follow a cloud of gnats around for hours.

Angela [00:41:07] Cloud of gnats. That’s how you get ’em.

Jenna [00:41:12] Well, you know, like you said, Dwight says that the way he’s going to find out if Donna is cheating is that he’s going to seduce her, bring her to orgasm, and then break the news to Michael.

Angela [00:41:22] Mm hmm.

Jenna [00:41:23] I have a location breakdown.

Angela [00:41:25] Let’s hear it.

Jenna [00:41:26] Both the interior and exterior of the gym were filmed on location in Reseda, California at 360 Health Club, which is now closed.

Angela [00:41:35] Well, let’s take a break, because when we come back, there is no ice cream in the kitchen.

Jenna [00:41:39] Oh, my God. I can’t wait to talk about this.

Angela [00:41:42] It’s so gross. Did he really eat mayonnaise?

Jenna [00:41:44] I’ll tell you after the break.

Angela [00:41:45] Okay.

Jenna [00:41:47] All right, we’re back. Michael is glum. He’s in the kitchen. Jim and Pam come in and they find him eating ice cream?

Angela [00:41:56] They think it’s ice cream.

Jenna [00:41:57] There was no ice cream. So he’s eating mayonnaise and black olives.

Angela [00:42:02] Blech.

Jenna [00:42:04] We got another fan mail flurry.

Angela [00:42:06] About the mayo and olives? What do we got?

Jenna [00:42:08] Well, Emmy L from Baltimore, Maryland and many others would like to know what was Steve really eating?

Angela [00:42:15] Yeah. What was he eating?

Jenna [00:42:16] He was not eating mayo and black olives. I’m pretty sure, if I remember correctly, it was yogurt and grapes.

Angela [00:42:24] He sold it. I don’t know why watching him made me so grossed out. And he’s going to tell them that he’s put Dwight on the case. And Pam and Jim are like, No, Michael, you have to cancel this. And then Michael has my favorite line of this episode. This thing is going to spiral out of a muck. He’s trying to use the word Pam used earlier in the conference room, which means out of control.

Jenna [00:42:49] Well, Pam tells Michael that he has a tendency to self-sabotage and torpedo his romantic relationships. And Michael agrees that he often ruins everything with the loves of his life, which he begins to list.

Angela [00:43:03] All but Helene.

Jenna [00:43:05] So Pam says, Helene? Michael can’t seem to recall who this person is. Helene?

Angela [00:43:10] She’s like, My mother?

Jenna [00:43:12] He’s like, Oh, yeah.

Angela [00:43:13] Oh, yeah, yeah.

Jenna [00:43:14] I love Steve’s look.

Angela [00:43:16] Mm hmm.

Jenna [00:43:17] After he’s like, Oh, yes, of course, of course. But then he does an aside that’s like, I don’t know. Not really.

Angela [00:43:21] Don’t know. No. Not really. Yeah.

Jenna [00:43:24] Pretty amazing. Well, I guess they get through to him because Michael is going to try to call Dwight and I guess take him off the case.

Angela [00:43:33] But Dwight’s not answering.

Jenna [00:43:35] No. He blocks Michael’s call. And he’s going to start following Donna around the gym. And I guess this is flirting. It’s very strange.

Angela [00:43:45] Whatever it is, it needs to stop. Because, Dwight, what are you doing? What is that thing he puts on his head and he’s trying to lift? It looked medieval.

Jenna [00:43:55] That’s a real thing. I looked it up.

Angela [00:43:57] No.

Jenna [00:43:58] Yes. It is a thing that is supposed to help strengthen your neck muscles. But Dwight is doing it totally wrong. Like what?

Angela [00:44:05] The head strappy thing?

Jenna [00:44:07] Yeah, the head strappy thing with a weight on it is a real thing.

Angela [00:44:11] Now, why do you need super strong neck muscles?

Jenna [00:44:14] I don’t know. Maybe it helps you lift other things. You know, like if you’re a big lifter you need a big neck.

Angela [00:44:21] You need a big neck.

Jenna [00:44:22] But you’re not supposed to bend over. You’re supposed to stand straight up. So it looked like Rainn was hurting himself. I was concerned. I did Google something. I got curious.

Angela [00:44:37] Mm hmm.

Jenna [00:44:39] Let me ask you.

Angela [00:44:40] Okay.

Jenna [00:44:41] Do you know how much the average human head weighs?

Angela [00:44:45] Oh, gosh.

Jenna [00:44:46] Cause I was like, why would you need, like, what are we holding up every day?

Angela [00:44:51] Well, here’s the thing. I just sort of have this vague memory from, like, a science class in school that our heads are really heavy. Like, I kind of remember that we have big heads.

Jenna [00:45:05] So what do you think? Sam? Do you have a guess? How much does the average human head weigh?

Sam [00:45:09] I’m going to say 15 pounds.

Jenna [00:45:10] Okay. Angela?

Angela [00:45:12] Yeah, I was going to say, I don’t know. Should I try to lift my own head?

Jenna [00:45:17] How’s that feel?

Angela [00:45:19] I don’t know. Like, I think 10 to 20 pounds.

Jenna [00:45:23] Okay. On average, a human head weighs 10 to 12 pounds.

Sam [00:45:27] Oh, yeah.

Angela [00:45:28] I’m giving someone a pretty big head. 20 pounds.

Jenna [00:45:31] But listen, your head is balanced on just seven vertebrae in your neck and is surrounded by about 20 muscles. And a recent study published in the journal Surgical Technology International shows that if you lean just 15 degrees forward, your head weighs more like 27 pounds. If you lean 30 degrees forward, it weighs about 40 pounds. And when you’re hunched over in a position very common for looking at your phone, your head is putting about a 60 pound strain on your neck.

Angela [00:46:12] Any wonder you get a neck ache after you’ve been like on your computer or something?

Jenna [00:46:17] Yes. Our neck muscles were designed to hold our heads when we’re straight, not when we’re looking at our phones. So, everyone, right now, straighten up.

Angela [00:46:26] Yeah. Don’t be so slouchy over your devices.

Jenna [00:46:29] That’s right.

Angela [00:46:31] I also Googled something this episode.

Jenna [00:46:33] What’s that?

Angela [00:46:34] Probably a random time to bring it up. But, you know, we do a lot of research. We prep. I always try to find articles written about the show or something specific to the episode. So I Googled The Cover Up.

Jenna [00:46:47] Mm hmm.

Angela [00:46:48] Thinking maybe one of the first things that would come up would be our show.

Jenna [00:46:52] Oh, dear.

Angela [00:46:53] I got some real random movies and television shows with the same name. I’m just going to share my three favorites. There were a lot.

Jenna [00:47:02] Okay.

Angela [00:47:03] There was a movie in 1949 called Cover Up, starring Barbara Britton, Dennis O’Keefe and William Bendix. The movie poster said, It takes more than a kiss to cover up a killing.

Jenna [00:47:15] Ooh. Intrigue.

Angela [00:47:16] I know. I even watched the trailer. I’m like, I kind of want to go watch it. It’s on Turner Classic movies.

Jenna [00:47:20] Okay.

Angela [00:47:21] I found an eighties television show called Cover Up for CBS starring Jennifer O’Neil and John Eric Hexum. The show poster was my favorite. Ready?

Jenna [00:47:33] Yeah.

Angela [00:47:34] She’s the world’s sexiest photographer. He’s fashion’s hottest model. They go where the government can’t, helping Americans in trouble.

Jenna [00:47:43] What is this show?

Angela [00:47:45] I know. This is amazing. And I also found a movie from 1991 with Dolph Lundgren and Louis Gossett, Jr called Cover Up. The movie poster said, If the lies don’t kill you, the truth will.

Jenna [00:48:01] Wow.

Angela [00:48:02] Mm hmm. World’s sexiest photographer, fashion’s hottest model. Going where the American government can’t.

Jenna [00:48:09] I don’t even understand that tagline.

Angela [00:48:11] I know.

Jenna [00:48:11] I don’t. I envision nothing when I hear that.

Angela [00:48:14] I’ll show you the TV poster. Here it is. Undercover. Under Fire.

Jenna [00:48:21] This is incredible. I don’t even know how to put words to it. I’m speechless. Please post this in Office Ladies pod stories so all can see. Back at the gym, Dwight is working hard. He’s getting very sweaty, and he will not wipe down his equipment. I have a guest star alert. The woman who would like Dwight to please wipe down his equipment was played by Fay DeWitt. She’s been on a ton of television shows, including Monk.

Angela [00:48:52] Oh!

Jenna [00:48:52] And also Columbo and Mork and Mindy, All in the Family, Three’s Company and most recently, Crazy Ex-girlfriend.

Angela [00:49:01] That is quite the resume.

Jenna [00:49:03] I agree.

Angela [00:49:04] Some amazing shows. Dwight is finally going to leave. He’s going to come back to the office and he’s going to tell Michael that Donna is not cheating, but she’s furious and she’ll be on her way shortly. Also, he signed up for a gym membership.

Jenna [00:49:20] Yeah. Michael’s going to be billed monthly.

Angela [00:49:23] Mm hmm.

Jenna [00:49:25] I loved Rainn’s commitment to his sore legs. I thought it was very accurate. I cannot tell you how many times after I haven’t worked out for a long time and I decide that I’m going to work out, I go at it too hard and then I walk like that for about three days.

Angela [00:49:43] I remember one time I came over to your house.

Jenna [00:49:45] Oh, dear.

Angela [00:49:46] Because you had started trying to do this workout. You had, like a… What do you call those things, a circuit? You know, you’re like Ange, we’re going to do ten pushups then we’re going to do ten jumping jacks. You had, like, a thing that you had worked out, and I was going to do it with you.

Jenna [00:50:02] Yeah.

Angela [00:50:03] And we did.

Jenna [00:50:04] I don’t know why we ever try to work out together. I never goes well.

Angela [00:50:06] It never goes well. We started doing burpees.

Jenna [00:50:10] Yeah.

Angela [00:50:10] You told me what a burpee was.

Jenna [00:50:12] Mm hmm.

Angela [00:50:13] Maybe I got three done, and I was like, I’m going to skip this one. You’re like, No, you can’t skip. It’s a circuit. We got to do this whole thing. I’m like, I’m just going to jump up and down now. I can jump up and down. You’re like, That’s not the circuit. Anyway, it was really funny. We only did it one time, Jenna.

Jenna [00:50:31] No, we’ve often started these, like, fitness things together. We tried yoga, we tried hiking.

Angela [00:50:38] Mmhmm.

Jenna [00:50:39] And recently, again, you were like, Lady, we need to do this together. And I thought to myself, why? Why do we need to do it together? We never succeed when we do it together. We are we are many things. We are best friends. We are business partners. We are lovers of many common interests.

Angela [00:50:58] Scrapbooking, Target…

Jenna [00:51:00] So many things. Exercise is not our thing.

Angela [00:51:03] It’s not our thing. Together. It’s not our thing together. I do remember that once I bailed on the burpee and I just said, I’m going to jump up and down, then there was another thing we were supposed to do and you were like, Okay, fine, we can skip that one. Then we just sort of feed off each other.

Jenna [00:51:17] This is where our partnership ends. Unfortunately.

Angela [00:51:20] Exercise.

Jenna [00:51:21] We are not workout buddies. Well, anyway, I think Michael is moaning on the floor.

Angela [00:51:27] He’s moaning on the floor, and Donna’s going to come in. He tries to hide from her, but she sees him and she’s going to confront him. And it does not go the way I thought it would.

Jenna [00:51:37] Me either.

Angela [00:51:39] She’s somehow charmed by Michael.

Jenna [00:51:43] Yeah. I mean, he does say he just can’t believe his luck being with her and that everyone kind of convinced him that, you know.

Angela [00:51:53] There was something going on.

Jenna [00:51:54] Yeah.

Angela [00:51:55] And she says, when I say I like you, I like you. Let’s go away to Vero Beach. And Michael says, Is that on the water?

Jenna [00:52:03] It’s pretty amazing.

Angela [00:52:05] Meanwhile, Andy is going to go into Darryl’s office. Did anyone else catch the giant bass fish mounted on Darryl’s wall at 13 minutes, 2 seconds?

Jenna [00:52:14] Yes, I did, lady. Has that always been there? Was that there when it was Jim’s office?

Angela [00:52:19] I don’t know. How did we miss that big bass?

Jenna [00:52:23] I don’t know. Darryl tells Andy that he overheard Gabe saying something about eliminating Andy because he’s been a problem.

Angela [00:52:33] Andy starts to spiral.

Jenna [00:52:35] Yeah. Meanwhile, in the break room, we had one of my favorite Kelly moments ever.

Angela [00:52:43] Where she lists off every store in every mall? She knows every store anywhere.

Jenna [00:52:49] Yeah, because Donna has on heart earrings, and Kelly wants to know where she got them. And Donna is hedging. I loved it so much. I pulled an audio clip.

Kelly [00:52:58] Oh, hey, I love your earrings.

Donna [00:53:00] Thank you.

Kelly [00:53:01] Did Michael get them for you?

Donna [00:53:02] No, I bought them myself.

Kelly [00:53:05] Where?

Donna [00:53:07] Steamtown Mall.

Kelly [00:53:08] Claire’s? Zales? Rickey’s? Earrings Earrings Earrings? Fancy Girl? Platinum Cat? Where?

Donna [00:53:11] You know, I actually got them in Philadelphia in a mall down there.

Kelly [00:53:17] Franklin Mills? King of Prussia? Springfield? Governors Place?

Donna [00:53:22] Franklin Mills.

Jenna [00:53:25] Mm hmm.

Angela [00:53:26] Uh huh.

Jenna [00:53:28] Pam clocks it.

Angela [00:53:29] Right away. Also, did you notice what Meredith is reading through this whole scene?

Jenna [00:53:36] What?

Angela [00:53:36] Men’s Health.

Jenna [00:53:37] I did not notice that.

Angela [00:53:39] Well, Pam can’t let this heart jewelry thing go. She’s going to have another talking head with Jim, where she says women don’t buy heart shaped jewelry for themselves. A man definitely bought that for her.

Jenna [00:53:51] That’s right. And Jim says, Do you like heart shaped jewelry? And she’s like, No. I mean, except for this necklace that you gave me. Which I love.

Angela [00:54:00] She caught herself pretty quickly. Creed is going to pass Andy, and he’s going to do, like, the finger across the throat gesture. This will make Andy spiral even more because Creed is head of quality assurance. Maybe he’s wrapped up in this. Creed has a talking head where he says, So there I am, minding my own business, and Darnell offers me three bucks. All I got to do is walk by Andy and go like this. Darnell is a chump. I would have done it for anything. I’ve done a lot more for a lot less.

Jenna [00:54:30] I noticed the recurring $3. Remember? Didn’t Creed have a $3 bill earlier?

Angela [00:54:37] Yes.

Jenna [00:54:38] With I thought it was Brad Pitt. Turns out, it was George W Bush.

Angela [00:54:42] Well, there is a candy bag alt for the second part of Creed’s talking head. Instead of saying I would have done it for anything, I’ve done a lot more for a lot less, Creed’s alt that they did shoot- it was a must shoot- was, Can you believe it? I thought this was going to be a terrible week, what with my mum dying. But life surprises you sometimes.

Jenna [00:55:06] Oh, my God.

Angela [00:55:07] I know.

Jenna [00:55:08] Oh, Creed.

Angela [00:55:10] Well, this Andy storyline would have continued with the scene between Erin and Andy in the kitchen.

Jenna [00:55:17] Really?

Angela [00:55:17] Yeah. We haven’t seen anything between Erin and Andy since their breakup.

Jenna [00:55:21] Yes.

Angela [00:55:21] But they had a whole scene. We talked about it briefly last week and I said I would share. In the shooting draft Andy enters the kitchen, walks over to Erin, who is seated at the table. She looks up and smiles. He looks behind him and takes a seat at the table. Andy says, I think I’ve uncovered something pretty big, and if anything happens to me, I want you to read this letter. It has every feeling I’ve ever felt about you, everything I’ve ever wanted to say to you, but didn’t have the courage. I put it all in this letter. He slides it to her. He then goes on to say, However, and I can’t be clearer on this point, if nothing happens to me, absolutely do not under any circumstances read this letter. And Erin says, okay.

Jenna [00:56:11] Oh, my gosh. That is crazy. Well, now there’s going to be a big break in the case of is Donna cheating?

Angela [00:56:21] Pam is a Mom Detective.

Jenna [00:56:23] She sure is. Turns out she and Donna have a friend of a friend in common on Facebook, and she was able to see some of Donna’s posts. Now, first of all, obviously, Michael doesn’t follow Donna on Facebook.

Angela [00:56:38] No.

Jenna [00:56:39] Because there are pictures of her canoodling with another man.

Angela [00:56:43] There’s multiple pictures.

Jenna [00:56:45] Yeah. So we’re going to come to find out in this episode that Donna is married. And the person she’s kissing in these photos is her husband.

Angela [00:56:57] Yeah.

Jenna [00:56:58] And this character of Donna’s husband is going to show up next week. Spoiler alert. Randy told me that the actor who is going to play Donna’s husband named Shane had been hired for the following week. His name was Larkin Campbell. So they contacted Allison Jones, and Allison gave them a general description of Larkin, and they cast a background artist to stand in and be a photo double so that they could take the pictures for this episode for Pam to have as a prop. These photos were shot by Michael Gallenberg on a greenscreen over on the warehouse stage and Henry Saine built the Photoshop composite and the Facebook printouts that Pam holds up. A lot went into these printouts.

Angela [00:57:48] Yeah.

Jenna [00:57:48] Including Amy Pietz having to, like, kiss a random fella for these pictures.

Angela [00:57:54] Oh, yeah.

Jenna [00:57:55] Right?

Angela [00:57:55] Yeah.

Jenna [00:57:56] These are details you don’t think about. Also, I just want to say, Pam also shows a photo of Cece.

Angela [00:58:03] Mm hmm.

Jenna [00:58:04] That was a photo of my real niece Cece.

Angela [00:58:06] Oh, it’s such a cute picture.

Jenna [00:58:08] I know. It’s at 15 minutes and 35 seconds.

Angela [00:58:10] It’s so crazy cute. Well, Pam is going to take these pictures in a folder and march into Michael’s office where he is sitting with Donna. It looks like they’re looking at places to stay in Vero Beach. And this was a bit of a stretch for me that Pam would hand Michael these pictures when he is seated next to Donna. And Donna, what, doesn’t even glance over? She doesn’t even see what he’s looking at?

Jenna [00:58:37] Pam tries to get Michael out of the room. She says, Michael, I need to discuss my sex life with you.

Angela [00:58:43] I know. She’s desperate to get him out of that room.

Jenna [00:58:45] I mean, what else is she supposed to say? She makes up multiple reasons for him to leave the room with her, and he will not.

Angela [00:58:52] My issue is not with Pam. My issue is, how is it that Donna doesn’t just glance over and see what Michael is looking at?

Jenna [00:59:00] Because she’s too invested in finding a good vacation spot.

Angela [00:59:04] Okay.

Jenna [00:59:05] I absolutely loved filming this scene. I had so much fun with Steve. So much of that dialogue and back and forth we kind of found on the day.

Angela [00:59:13] I figured you did. It looked like you guys were having fun.

Jenna [00:59:16] I also want to point out at 16 minutes, in the background, Phyllis is not at her desk. John is at his desk and Creed is standing at Dwight’s desk. The reason for this was that Phyllis could not be in the background that day, and Rainn, who was directing, could not be in the background. So in order to fill out that area, he had Creed step forward and stand at Dwight’s desk.

Angela [00:59:45] Michael and Pam are outside of Vance Refrigeration where Michael is flipping out.

Jenna [00:59:49] Yeah.

Angela [00:59:49] He’s freaking out with this new information.

Jenna [00:59:52] Yeah. Michael does not know what to do with this information. He walks Donna to her car, and he’s kind of trying to trick her by making plans for the weekend, but then changing them.

Angela [01:00:03] Yeah. To Tuesday and then he’s like, Oh, but I can do Tuesday.

Jenna [01:00:07] And finally, Michael tells Donna he knows that she’s cheating on him because Pam told him.

Angela [01:00:14] And then he looks up and Jenna, you like, spring- like, talk about this athletic move where you, like, lunge and dive forward onto the ground.

Jenna [01:00:25] We got a fan question from Kelsey B in North Carolina who said, I love when Pam hits the floor so that Donna doesn’t see her. Was this scripted? Because it’s absolutely hilarious. Yes, that moment was scripted. In the script, it says Pam hits the floor. And it was so fun to shoot. We kept laughing. I just kept trying to fling myself on the floor in the most ridiculous way every time. We were cracking up. We had a lot of fun with that moment. But this is when Michael is going to find out that he, he is the person she’s cheating with.

Angela [01:01:03] Yeah, he’s the other guy.

Jenna [01:01:05] And next week, we’re going to learn what Michael’s feelings are about that.

Angela [01:01:09] About being the other fella?

Jenna [01:01:10] Yeah.

Angela [01:01:12] At 18 minutes, 4 seconds, Gabe is going to tell Andy that they have investigated all of the instances of faulty printers. In every case, it was user error. He’s going to really creepily offer him a $5 Dunkin Donuts gift card.

Jenna [01:01:28] Yeah, like as a thank you for bringing this to our attention.

Angela [01:01:31] Andy seems happy. And then Darryl shakes him off like, nope. Uh uh. Something’s still going on.

Jenna [01:01:37] That’s right. He manages to convince Andy to film himself using one of these printers. They’re down in the defunct Michael Scott Paper Company room. Remember, Michael rented that space forever. It’s there.

Angela [01:01:52] Yeah. He’s going to have it for a while. In the shooting draft the scene was described like this: Interior Michael Scott Paper Company. It barely resembles the old MSPC. There’s some garbage in the corner and a few motivational posters on the wall. A Sabre printer is set up on a ledge and it is printing many copies. Darryl videotapes Andy with the printer in the background and the printer is printing.

Jenna [01:02:18] Well, Randy told me that they didn’t think we were ever going to use that space again, and they had converted it back to being a post-production storeroom.

Angela [01:02:26] Oh, my gosh. They had to move everything out.

Jenna [01:02:29] They did. They had to take everything back out again. He said luckily they had left the fakey shower and the kind of stained walls. But he said, our set dec team, headed by Steve Rothstein and the leadman, Jim McDermott, had to totally recover that space, basically.

Angela [01:02:45] Well, Andy is putting on the presentation of this printer. Darryl keeps making him talk in a higher voice.

Jenna [01:02:51] Yes.

Angela [01:02:51] And now he’s talking really high. And guess what starts happening?

Jenna [01:02:55] The printer starts smoking and catches on fire.

Angela [01:02:58] Darryl is genuinely shocked.

Jenna [01:03:01] Randy told me that the printer in the scene was rigged by Ron Nary, our head of special effects. And our on set effects person, Mike Thompson, was there to kind of make it all work. First, they had to hide a remote controlled electronic smoke generator, which produced the safe smoke, which is very similar to what we used in that fire drill, the opening of Stress Relief. And then the sparks were created using squibs, which were similar to what we used to make Andy’s battery spark in Mafia. And then finally, he told me that Craig used a real CO2 fire extinguisher.

Angela [01:03:36] That looked real.

Jenna [01:03:37] I thought so too. But did you notice the fakey labels on the printer that say Sabre? If you look close, there’s two.

Angela [01:03:45] Fakey label.

Jenna [01:03:46] Mm hmm.

Angela [01:03:47] This moment is going to sober up Darryl pretty quickly.

Jenna [01:03:52] That’s right.

Angela [01:03:53] He’s going to have a talking head where he says, I don’t want to prank anymore. Things get real. It’s not funny. I’m just going to be good. Stay in my room. Go to church. Try to do one nice thing per day. I do not want to prank anymore.

Jenna [01:04:07] No more pranks.

Angela [01:04:09] I don’t like pranks myself.

Jenna [01:04:12] We’ve talked about this. I hate pranks.

Angela [01:04:13] I know. We hate pranks. We’re on board with Darryl. Darryl, stay away from the pranking.

Jenna [01:04:18] This episode ends with Dwight back at the gym. He has aggressively taken over a spin class. Guest Star Alert. The spin instructor was played by David Mate and according to IMDB, he played professional ice hockey in Europe.

Angela [01:04:32] Wow.

Jenna [01:04:32] I know. When we reached out to Rainn, he said he absolutely loved doing this scene and he said he thinks the writers had for a while this idea that Dwight would take over an exercise class.

Angela [01:04:44] It is pretty funny. I mean, talk about a class that would make sure you worked out, would be Dwight yelling at you on a spin bicycle.

Jenna [01:04:52] It’s so true. Finally, we got a fan question from Sasha L from McAllen, Texas, who said, I noticed that this episode was dedicated to Larry Einhorn. Who is that? Well, Sasha, that was Randall Einhorn’s father. His father had passed away suddenly while we were in post-production on this episode. And it was Greg Daniels’ idea to add him to the end credits.

Angela [01:05:17] Yeah.

Jenna [01:05:18] Well, there you have it, guys. That’s The Cover Up.

Angela [01:05:20] That’s The Cover Up. Next week is The Chump. And we are winding down season six.

Jenna [01:05:28] Only two more episodes to go.

Angela [01:05:30] Wow.

Jenna [01:05:31] I know. And then we’re in Steve’s final season.

Angela [01:05:34] Oh, my gosh.

Jenna [01:05:34] That’s going to be emotional.

Angela [01:05:36] It is. And Steve has got to come on.

Jenna [01:05:38] He said he would come on for Goodbye, Michael. When we reached out to him a long time ago to be on the podcast, he said, Guys, can I come on for Goodbye, Michael and just talk about it all?

Angela [01:05:50] Oh, my gosh. If Steve is able to come in the studio, I will cry. I will cry.

Jenna [01:05:56] There’s going to be a lot of crying happening in season seven.

Angela [01:05:58] Season seven. Buckle in. All right. Well, you guys, thank you so much for listening. Thank you to Rainn Wilson for sending us in audio clips. Thank you to Randy Cordray. And we just hope you guys have a great week.

Jenna [01:06:10] We’ll see you next week.

Angela [01:06:12] Bye.

Jenna [01:06:18] 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 [01:06:35] Our theme song is Rubber Tree by Creed Bratton. For Ad free versions of Office Ladies, go to Stitcher Premium dot com. For a free one month trial at Stitcher Premium, use code: office.