TRANSCRIPT
OFFICE LADIES | EPISODE 5 - BASKETBALL
JENNA [00:00:03] I'm Jenna Fischer.
ANGELA [00:00:04] 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 ulltimate Office rewatch podcast just for you.
ANGELA [00:00:13] 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.
ANGELA [00:00:26] Oh my God. I'm here with my BFF.
JENNA [00:00:29] We're gonna do this.
ANGELA [00:00:29] This is so cool. We are hanging out talking about The Office. Jenna, who is the person you want to sit next to in any high school chemistry class, she is the note taker. You don't watch Game of Thrones, so you will miss this reference. You would be like "Jenna Fischer, first of her name. Keeper of the notes of the records."
JENNA [00:00:48] I don't watch Game of Thrones but I appreciate that.
ANGELA [00:00:51] Well, you would, you would be keeper of the notes. And she has made some really great notes. And we both went back and rewatched... which episode, Jenna?
JENNA [00:00:58] Today we are discussing the Basketball episode. This is Season 1, episode 5. It was written and directed by Greg Daniels.
ANGELA [00:01:08] That's right.
JENNA [00:01:08] Should we give a synopsis of the episode?
ANGELA [00:01:11] I know you want to, Jenna. Keeper of the notes.
JENNA [00:01:15] I wrote down a synopsis.
ANGELA [00:01:17] She did, y'all. She typed it out.
JENNA [00:01:19] I'm going to read it. OK. In this episode, Michael challenges the guys in the warehouse to a basketball game against the upstairs sales staff. The warehouse workers led by Darryl want to make it a friendly game. But Michael insists there be a prize for the winner or more accurately, a punishment for the losers. Michael suggests the losers have to work on Saturday. And then he taunts Darryl with chicken sounds until Darryl agrees.
ANGELA [00:01:41] Bok bok bok bok.
JENNA [00:01:42] Correct. But things will get more interesting in this episode. That's not where it ends, Angela.
ANGELA [00:01:47] I know.
JENNA [00:01:48] The drama does not end there.
ANGELA [00:01:49] There's another "dun dun dun" paragraph.
JENNA [00:01:51] Things get more interesting because Pam's fiance, Roy, works in the warehouse.
ANGELA [00:01:55] Oh, snap.
JENNA [00:01:56] Yes. So we find out that she is caught between her office crush, Jim, and her actual fiance, Roy. Who is she going to root for, upstairs or downstairs?
ANGELA [00:02:06] I don't know.
JENNA [00:02:07] Let's start with some fast facts.
ANGELA [00:02:08] It is your favorite part.
JENNA [00:02:09] You know, it is. Fast fact number one: this was Greg Daniels' directorial debut of The Office.
ANGELA [00:02:15] Not just any debut of directing.
JENNA [00:02:18] Not just of The Office, but his debut debut. Now, he told me he had directed actors before, for voices on The Simpsons and King of the Hill.
ANGELA [00:02:27] Right.
JENNA [00:02:27] He created King of the Hill for anyone who doesn't know.
ANGELA [00:02:29] Right.
JENNA [00:02:29] But this was his first time doing on camera directing. He would go on to direct 12 more episodes of The Office. But this was the first.
ANGELA [00:02:36] Yes. And I remember him showing up in his New Balance sneakers, his gray sneakers and his khaki pants. Greg always wears anything he got for free. So like his shirt might have said King of the Hill, his baseball hat might've said The Simpsons. Mindy Kaling used to joke he just wore all his swag all the time, but he showed up so giddy and excited. His enthusiasm and love for this show and this world and characters, it was just so contagious. I just loved it so much. It made me excited.
JENNA [00:03:06] Fast fact number two, this is the episode where we introduced the character of Darryl played by Craig Robinson. Now we see him for the first time in The Alliance. He's watching Dwight bust out of the box. But this is the first time he speaks. And this is the first time we learn his character's name.
ANGELA [00:03:21] Right. This establishes him as a character on the show.
JENNA [00:03:25] Now, I was e-mailing with Allison Jones, our casting director, because I wanted to know, how did you find Craig Robinson? He is so amazing. And we knew that if the show went on that this was a character who was going to recur but who wasn't in the first couple of episodes. Greg had talked to me about how he was going to fill out the world of The Office and we were going to really get to know some of the people down in the warehouse. He was going to introduce this character of Darryl as being one of Roy's friends, that they work in the warehouse together. And so Allison had to cast this person who we knew was going to recur like Roy. She told me that she had seen him on a TV show called Lucky.
ANGELA [00:04:07] Right.
JENNA [00:04:07] That he did with John Corbett. So she said from there she had cast him in some small roles on Arrested Development and Curb Your Enthusiasm, because she also cast those shows. And she brought him in to audition for The Office. She's the reason why Craig ended up on our show.
ANGELA [00:04:22] And Craig was very sought after in comedy circles. Like, I feel like that was a really big get for us.
JENNA [00:04:27] Oh, for sure. Yeah. I mean, he's a huge comedian.
ANGELA [00:04:30] He's so funny and so talented and so nice.
JENNA [00:04:35] Why was everybody on our show so nice? I feel like they did us this wonderful service of casting really talented people, but who were all really nice to each other. We were really lucky because we both worked on other shows since where it is not the case.
ANGELA [00:04:50] We were like, oh wow, we were really lucky.
JENNA [00:04:53] Really, really lucky. OK, are you ready for our last fast fact?
ANGELA [00:04:56] Yeah.
JENNA [00:04:57] In the very early moments of this episode, you see the boom microphone dip down into frame.
ANGELA [00:05:03] Look at you catching a little boom.
JENNA [00:05:05] I did. Now, normally, you would never allow this on television, right? But on our show, this was considered gold. We kept this stuff in, like you never not used a take that was funny just because you saw the boom microphone or anything, any quote unquote mistake that would normally get cut out of another show.
ANGELA [00:05:22] Right.
JENNA [00:05:22] We used it.
ANGELA [00:05:23] Because you wanted to feel like the documentary.
JENNA [00:05:25] Like an authentic documentary. This was really important. So I thought that was kind of a cool little thing.
ANGELA [00:05:30] That is cool. Our boom operator was named Nick Carbone. And one of my favorite things is when sometimes he would get the boom in the shot, we would yell "You got Carboned!" And then we also started making up a song called Boom Shadow, Boom Shadow. Listen, young kids, Google it. That is an old song.
JENNA [00:05:50] Angela, I have to share something else about Nick Carbone our sound guy.
ANGELA [00:05:54] Okay.
JENNA [00:05:55] So Nick Carbone put a microphone on me every day for nine years.
ANGELA [00:06:00] Yes, he did.
JENNA [00:06:01] It's a very intimate thing to mic an actor. Oftentimes, you know, I was in that pencil skirt. And if I was standing up, we would sometimes have to put a leg wrap around my upper thigh to hide the microphone pack and then very delicately weave a microphone wire through underneath my bra, up my blouse and Nick Carbone was the person who did this every day.
ANGELA [00:06:26] For me, too.
JENNA [00:06:27] Yeah, every day. So a very intimate relationship forms with the person who mics you everyday. Here's something that would happen, though. Those leg wraps, they closed via Velcro.
ANGELA [00:06:37] Yes.
JENNA [00:06:37] They were a Velcro leg wrap. And Pam wore pantyhose. And I would get a run in my pantyhose and I would have to change my pantyhose four to five times a day. The wardrobe people would put four or five packs of pantyhose in my trailer because they knew that inevitably I would get a run from this Velcro, which was also itchy and uncomfortable. Do you know what Nick did for me?
ANGELA [00:07:01] I do know what he did for you, but you tell them.
JENNA [00:07:03] OK, here's what he did. He came up with a special leg wrap invention. Where he created a leg wrap that used bra hooks.
ANGELA [00:07:14] It was like a bra.
JENNA [00:07:17] Yeah, like a bra strap closure. So that when he hooked it onto my leg, my pantyhose wouldn't run and I wouldn't have to change my pantyhose so often. And it worked.
ANGELA [00:07:28] It was brilliant.
JENNA [00:07:29] Here's the other thing he did. He knew that I like to really go for it at the holidays. I mean, I like to eat the pies and the many turkeys and all of this stuff.
ANGELA [00:07:39] You love some holiday eating.
JENNA [00:07:40] I love the holiday eating. And I would often come back from the holidays a good full size larger than when I left. So Nick Carbone put like a bra... There were just three different size settings for if it was post holidays, pre holidays, maybe I was working out real hard for a movie role, so that it always fit me. Because that was the purpose of the velcro was that you could kind of velcro us anywhere. So he made this adjustable leg wrap for me and we called it the Jenna and he kept it in my kit. It was so cool. And then you know after The Office was over a couple of years later, I got a job on an ABC show called Splitting Up Together. And when I walked on the set for the first day, they introduced me to the sound team and it was Nick. And I am tearing up just thinking about it. There he was again. So the only person who has really ever miked me for television is Nick Carbone. And he had saved my special leg wrap.
ANGELA [00:08:46] That is so sweet.
JENNA [00:08:46] I just love him so much.
ANGELA [00:08:47] I love him, too. We've totally become family. And I just loved our crew. I just loved our crew so much. This is completely not related to Nick Carbone, but I have to share it. Jenna wore pantyhose every day. They were in her trailer. The same pantyhose were in my trailer. They were put in my trailer every day, starting day one. I never put them on. I refused to.
JENNA [00:09:09] That blows my mind.
ANGELA [00:09:10] I refuse to wear pantyhose. And Jenna, one day, I mean, it was years.
JENNA [00:09:14] I remember the day. It was years into filming.
ANGELA [00:09:17] Like seasons upon seasons. And she looked over at me one day and she was like, you don't have on pantyhose. I was like, yeah. They put them in my trailer. I don't wear those things. I'm not wearing pantyhose. And she was like, what the hell? I've been wearing pantyhose for years.
JENNA [00:09:30] I am such a rule follower that it never occurred to me that I could go rogue and just not wear the pantyhose.
ANGELA [00:09:36] I just didn't put them on. And no one said anything. I didn't put them on. No one said anything.
JENNA [00:09:40] I mean, listen, there were times when I didn't dress the bottom half of my body.
ANGELA [00:09:44] Well, you need to explain that because it sounds...
JENNA [00:09:46] Oh, yeah. Yeah. I should let expand on that.
ANGELA [00:09:50] You weren't commando.
JENNA [00:09:50] Yes. So sometimes if I was only seated behind the reception desk, I only dressed the top half of Pam and the bottom half was Uggs and sweat pants. So I did get a break from the pantyhose.
ANGELA [00:10:03] I never wore them ever.
JENNA [00:10:05] I can't believe that.
ANGELA [00:10:06] I just kept shoving them aside. I shoved them aside for like two years and then they just gave up and stopped putting them in my trailer.
JENNA [00:10:12] I used to look so forward to our quote unquote winter episodes because they would give me tights which were way more comfortable than pantyhose. And then after a while, I had to say stop putting control top pantyhose in my trailer. I don't want to wear control top pantyhose for 12 hours a day.
ANGELA [00:10:30] You and my grandmother.
JENNA [00:10:31] Especially after the holidays.
ANGELA [00:10:32] This is a sentence that could set up so many conversations for me with Jenna. But Jenna, you and my grandmother are the only two people I knew for a period of time that wore pantyhose everyday. My grandmother wore pantyhose every day of her life. She always had on pantyhose.
JENNA [00:10:50] I can't wait to be 75 because I think I'll finally make sense.
ANGELA [00:10:53] You're already there.
JENNA [00:10:53] I've been I've been a 75 year old woman since I was born.
ANGELA [00:10:56] OK. Jenna, I know we're done with fast facts, but I have a Kinsey tidbit.
JENNA [00:11:01] Oh what?
ANGELA [00:11:02] This is the episode where we became best friends.
JENNA [00:11:05] Yes. Yes, it is. It is. Well, that's kind of a big bit, Angela. That's not tidbit. That's a big bit.
ANGELA [00:11:11] Is that a big bit, little bit?
JENNA [00:11:14] Oh yes.
ANGELA [00:11:16] See what I did there? You see what I did?
JENNA [00:11:16] I see what you did there. Yes. Yes. We should tell this story.
ANGELA [00:11:19] So Jenna and I up into this point in The Office, we had that partition between us.
JENNA [00:11:24] We've been speaking over the partition.
ANGELA [00:11:28] But now as we filmed Basketball, we were now sitting next to each other on that bench. It was Jenna, me and Phyllis sitting on that bench all day next to each other.
JENNA [00:11:37] For two solid days. And a day of filming is about twelve hours. So twenty four solid hours on that bench.
ANGELA [00:11:44] And you say I just kept talking your ear off.
JENNA [00:11:46] You would not stop talking to me. Yes. The reason we are best friends is because Angela would not stop speaking to me.
ANGELA [00:11:52] Jenna just finally gave up.
JENNA [00:11:53] You wore me down.
ANGELA [00:11:55] No but we told each other our life stories on that bench.
JENNA [00:11:59] We did. It was like the bench of truth. Everything you could possibly want to share.
ANGELA [00:12:04] I will never forget. We were leaving one night. We had tape till really late at night. We'd had a long day and it was our day two. So you and I have now talked for the full 24 hours, and it's late at night. And we had to walk from where the warehouse set was back to our trailers and it was a little bit of a walk. And we linked arms. Arm in arm. And we started doing the Laverne and Shirley song. Schlemiel Schlimazel.
JENNA [00:12:29] I remember that.
ANGELA [00:12:29] And we were going up and down and we were like, we're gonna do it. Because we were giddy. We had lost our minds because we had been in that warehouse for, you know, 24 hours. Unbeknownst to us, quietly walking behind us was Steve Carrell and we turned around and realized he'd watched us do this whole Laverne and Shirley song and dance. And we started laughing because we were embarrassed. And he looked at us and smiled and he said, you guys, no matter what happens with this show, because we were on the chopping block.
JENNA [00:12:59] Always on the chopping block.
ANGELA [00:13:02] That first season, for sure. And he was like, no matter what happens with the show, this is what you guys will have from it. And he pointed at the two of us, this friendship. And I'll never forget it because he was right. And you say this is the episode. You have a photo that this is the moment we became best friends.
JENNA [00:13:18] I have a photo of us sitting on that bench from this episode framed in my office.
ANGELA [00:13:23] Lady, that's so sweet.
JENNA [00:13:25] And I have a sense memory of my butt falling asleep. So many times.
ANGELA [00:13:29] My butt fell asleep and the shoes I was wearing were called Sass.
JENNA [00:13:34] I remember those shoes.
ANGELA [00:13:34] These were the shoes that like nuns wear. Well, here's the thing you need to know about Sass shoes. They're incredibly comfortable. So if I was gonna be a nun on my feet, I get it. But there was someone in my life that loved Sass shoes and more them almost every day. And that was my grandmother, really. So when I got those shoes, I called her and I said, grandmother, I'm wearing Sass shoes. And she'll say, oh, you'll love them, you'll love them.
JENNA [00:13:58] All this story's making me think about is getting some Sass shoes. I love a comfortable shoe. Well, I love a comfortable pant. I love a comfortable shoe. I want an elastic waistband.
ANGELA [00:14:11] We've just established that you've been 75 since birth. So I think we need to get you some Sass shoes.
JENNA [00:14:17] Let's do it. We're gonna go to a break. I'm going to start Googling. Let's start at the beginning again. Michael enters the office and starts asking if people are ready for the big game.
ANGELA [00:14:26] Oh, this is early days of The Office. Michael was super cringing. Oh my God. He was so like, first of all, he would just accost you. He just walks up and swats you with a newspaper. He's like Pam. Whack!
JENNA [00:14:38] He does.
ANGELA [00:14:39] Yeah.
JENNA [00:14:39] He would come up to my desk and I would flinch. First, I want to say, that is my personal opinion, that Basketball is one of the best episodes we ever did.
ANGELA [00:14:48] Really?
JENNA [00:14:49] I absolutely love it. I think it is so good. One of my favorite scenes in this episode is the one where Dwight follows Michael into his office and tries to convince him that he should be part of a basketball team. And they get in this exchange that is so wonderful. Michael says no. Not after what happened at that pickup game. And then Dwight is like, I apologized for that. He's like I vouched for you. I vouched for you in front of Todd Packer. Now, here's the amazing thing about this show is that we've never met Todd Packer. He's only been mentioned one other time, which is in the pilot, when he calls in on speakerphone while Michael's having a meeting with Jan. He says a bunch of inappropriate stuff. And Michael just shut him off the speaker phone.
ANGELA [00:15:31] But you can tell in that phone call, Michael covets this guy.
JENNA [00:15:34] Loves him.
ANGELA [00:15:34] He's the coolest guy.
JENNA [00:15:36] We are not going to meet Todd Packer. I looked it up. Do you when we finally meet him?
ANGELA [00:15:40] Season...
JENNA [00:15:41] Season two Sexual Harassment episode.
ANGELA [00:15:45] Oh, that's perfect.
JENNA [00:15:46] Which... Yes, I know. But that's like far. Like, that's a while.
ANGELA [00:15:50] Well, I do love this. And I feel like Greg Daniels was so great about this. And with our writers room we just jumped in the middle of these people's lives, you know, we don't tell backstory and the audience just has to catch up. And I love that. I love all these little nuggets and this episode in particular has a lot of little nuggets. You see these dynamics that then play out years later. I love and I don't wanna jump too far ahead. But like Dwight and Angela's power struggle, it's the first time you see it, it's in this episode.
JENNA [00:16:18] All right. So we'll play that clip.
DWIGHT [00:16:20] I think I should be on the team.
MICHAEL [00:16:21] No. That's not me being mean, Dwight. That is based on your past behavior.
DWIGHT [00:16:26] Oh please.
MICHAEL [00:16:27] When I let him come to my pickup game.
DWIGHT [00:16:29] I apologized for that.
MICHAEL [00:16:31] I vouched for you. I vouched for you in front of you in front of Todd Packer, Dwight.
ANGELA [00:16:34] I love in this little scene when Rainn looks to the camera. Like he has a few looks to the camera that are just great. And I feel like this was really fun for all of us. This documentary kind of genre, because we did get to do that. And even in years later, I have jobs and every once in a while a director will say, Angela, you just looked at camera. You can't look at camera.
JENNA [00:16:58] I do it still, too.
ANGELA [00:17:00] I'm like, oh, crap, sorry. For nine years I would check in with the camera.
JENNA [00:17:04] It's so true. The camera was a character. It was another person that we could relate to. The documentarian, quote unquote. And so we were encouraged to make them a part of the conversation. And then it's weird to then take other jobs where you're like, oh, right, right. You're not actually filming me. I'm back to pretending like, yeah, this is not... You're not in the room.
ANGELA [00:17:26] Exactly. Exactly. OK. I have a card and this is sort of like a personal gripe, Jenna.
JENNA [00:17:31] Oh, you have a gripe?
ANGELA [00:17:33] I know you love a gripe.
JENNA [00:17:34] I live for a gripe.
ANGELA [00:17:36] OK, so in this episode, I wear a bun that's like a mid bun. It's like... It's in the middle of the back of my head. And who wants bobby pins in the middle of the back of their head? All day, like 12 hour days. So I look at women who wear buns differently now.
JENNA [00:17:56] Because of the number of buns your character had?
ANGELA [00:17:58] Yes.
JENNA [00:18:00] You've had a lot of buns.
ANGELA [00:18:00] I had a lot of buns, but I had such a bad headache by the end of Basketball. So I think if you look at me and I have a grumpy face, it's because I've had a bun for five days in a row. And I remember going to the hair and makeup trailer after this episode being like, can we please take a break from a bun? I can't. That hurts. How do women... I don't understand how women who wear buns everyday aren't grumpy everyday.
JENNA [00:18:22] Maybe they are. Maybe they haven't. Put it together, though. Ladies out there. If you are perpetually grumpy and have a bun, we just want to call your attention to the fact that that might be a cause effect there.
ANGELA [00:18:35] Break the bun.
JENNA [00:18:36] Break the bun #breakthebun.
ANGELA [00:18:37] #breakthebun.
JENNA [00:18:40] Another great scene is when Michael leads Ryan down into the warehouse. There's that great quote "He's managing by walking around."
ANGELA [00:18:49] Oh, yes.
JENNA [00:18:50] How that would be in his book, How I Manage. Michael Scott's book, How I Manage. Here's a little trivia. It's the first time we go down into the warehouse.
ANGELA [00:18:57] In this episode, we were filming in Culver City. So those stairs actually were real. They actually existed. We filmed in an actual building that was an old company.
JENNA [00:19:08] These offices were on the second floor of that building, too.
ANGELA [00:19:10] That's right. And so you go down the stairs to the warehouse. But in years later, they recreated the whole office in a different location on a soundstage and those stairs still existed, but they led nowhere. There was a tiny, tiny closet about three feet wide. And you would hide in the tiny closet. And then on cue, you would open the door and walk out. So there were many times when you would either be up there by yourself in the tiny closet or you'd be up there. Like one time I was up there with Oscar and Kevin. And there's not a lot of space up there now. And we just tucked in that little closet for about 20 minutes until our characters came in the scene.
JENNA [00:19:47] But this was where we were really using this real warehouse in this real space. And there are some shots outside where you can tell that it's not the same place as seasons later.
ANGELA [00:19:55] I know, I know. There's some things they couldn't cover.
JENNA [00:19:57] That's fun for the super nerds. OK. Well, I think we should play this clip of Michael introducing Ryan to Craig Robinson, who plays Daryl, the manager of the warehouse.
ANGELA [00:20:08] This is one of my favorite introductions of a character on The Office because the sort of journey that his name takes with Michael, of how Michael comes up with this nickname for him is so ridiculous. And Craig Robinson does such a great job in the scene of just throwning it away.
JENNA [00:20:23] He's so amazing. All right. We should watch it. We'll discuss.
MICHAEL [00:20:25] And here we have Mista Rogers' Neighborhood. Come on over here. This is Ryan. He's temping upstairs.
DARRYL [00:20:34] What's up?
MICHAEL [00:20:34] And is the foreman. Mista Rogers.
DARRYL [00:20:37] It's not my real name.
MICHAEL [00:20:38] No, it's Darryl. Darryl is Mista Rogers.
RYAN [00:20:42] Darryl Rogers.
DARRYL [00:20:42] Darryl Philbin. Then Regis. Then Reege. Then Rogers. Then Mista Rogers.
JENNA [00:20:51] What? The amazing history. How many years has Michael not been calling him by his name?
ANGELA [00:20:57] I know, Darryl. I know. It's so good. So good. And you so see in Michael's brain how he got there. Oh, Philbin. Oh, Regis Philbin. Reej. Rog. Mr. Rogers. Right. Right, right. That's so ridiculous and totally works. And I have to wonder, this is like when I would love to do a dial on phone call, but to call Mike Schur. Because Mike Schur was one of our writers on the show. And he is married to J.J. Philbin. J.J. Philbin's dad is Regis.
JENNA [00:21:26] Oh.
ANGELA [00:21:26] And I know Greg had told me that some of the people's names were formations of different people who had family and stuff on the show.
JENNA [00:21:35] Well, you know, Jim Halpert is Greg's friend, Jim Halpert?
ANGELA [00:21:40] Yes.
JENNA [00:21:40] His name is his first and last name. And Greg asked him permission to use his name. And the guy was like, oh, yeah, sure. It's no big deal. He came to set one day. It's like no big deal. Nine years later, it was kind of a big deal. He would call places and be like, I am Jim Halpert. And they'd like, yeah okay right
ANGELA [00:21:58] And Phyllis Lapin. Phyllis' last name Lapin, is the last name of a friend of Greg's as well. And so I have to think that Darryl Philbin was maybe Mike Schur's nod to to his father in law. His wife's side of the family, but then became this great runner for Michael Scott, which is so great.
ANGELA [00:22:16] It's so good. All right. Here we go. We're moving on, Jenna.
JENNA [00:22:19] We're moving on. What happens next?
ANGELA [00:22:21] Well, they go back up in the office, right? They go back to work.
JENNA [00:22:24] That's when he says, OK. "Who's starting? Stanley, of course."
ANGELA [00:22:28] Yeah. And Leslie David Baker is like, excuse me? Like, the kind of look he gives him is so perfect.
JENNA [00:22:35] Now, if I remember correctly, Leslie was truly a horrible basketball player.
ANGELA [00:22:38] Yes. Leslie was like, oh, I don't play sports.
JENNA [00:22:41] Yeah. He's not a sports guy.
ANGELA [00:22:43] That was really perfect. And Phyllis was so excited. She wanted to be on the team in real life. I'm talking Phyllis in real life was like so excited to be part of the basketball team. Phyllis in her youth was a burlesque dancer.
JENNA [00:22:57] This is true.
ANGELA [00:22:58] And she has quite the moves. And there is a tiny clip as they warm up before the game where she's moving her arms and stuff. But her warm up seemed very dance-like. But she was... There's a few times throughout the game when she finally gets to participate and you see her smile and that's genuine. Like Phyllis was like, I'm in the game. I'm so excited. I do have to say before we get into the game part, one thing is that you see my character looking through the supply closet and I'm looking for the first aid kit and I'm like, where's the first aid kit? And then Dwight doesn't even look around. He just holds it up. Right? And I have this line that to me is kind of like that Todd Packer line in the first part of the episode that is so loaded with information.
JENNA [00:23:38] Yes.
ANGELA [00:23:38] Because I say, how many times do I have to tell you I'm the safety officer, not you. So like, how many times has Dwight tried to usurp Angela's power? How many times has he taken that first aid kit and tried to be safety officer? What is their backstory?
JENNA [00:23:55] Yes, I would love to know.
ANGELA [00:23:57] I love that. We don't know. We just know that they are adversarial in this moment and that they both love power and control.
JENNA [00:24:05] Later in season two in the episode Email Surveillance, we will learn that Dwight and Angela are in a relationship. So we actually got a lot of comments about this. There were a lot of people who asked were Dwight and Angela already in a relationship at this point?
ANGELA [00:24:18] I don't think they're in a relationship yet. I think it's the beginning, I think it's the beginning. You know, they both kind of like each other, but they also are annoyed by each other. So they have this weird like yin and yang pull. And I think it's the beginning.
JENNA [00:24:33] I feel like the more they gave that bit to you guys to play, then it gave them the idea to write this as some weird twisted romance.
ANGELA [00:24:43] Yes. And when we found out we were a couple was at the table read. And that happened a lot for us on this show.
JENNA [00:24:50] Yeah.
ANGELA [00:24:50] Is that the writers would come up with things and we would sit down at lunch all together around a table once a week and read a new script. Usually on Wednesday we would read a new script and they would be handing them to us as we walked in the room. Sometimes that paper was hot.
JENNA [00:25:05] Yes, I remember.
ANGELA [00:25:07] And we would cold read these out loud. And a lot of times we discovered information as we read them. And that was definitely one of them when we see the Birkenstocks moving in the dollhouse in the backyard. We were like oh my God!
JENNA [00:25:19] I remember I found out Pam was pregnant during a table read. Being like a fan of the show, I would want information like anyone else. And I would get it early, but I would still have to wait for that table read moment to find out. Like they wouldn't say, okay this season, here are the five things that are going to happen to your character.
ANGELA [00:25:41] No, no.
JENNA [00:25:41] You had to wait for each week to see how the drama unfold.
ANGELA [00:25:45] Yeah. It was really fun. Oh, I have to tell the story. So, OK, so you know, as Michael picks his team, we then see a montage of all of us throwing things into the trash can. It starts with Dwight. He tries to make a shot. He misses. I thought his face was so cute. When he like did his fingers like, so close! And he got to be on the team and he was so happy. And then, of course, Stanley misses. Oscar gets it in no problem, you know, and people go around making these baskets. Well, we did B roll. We always had A camera and we had B camera on the show. And the B camera would pick up all these little moments happening in the background. And so they had all of us toss things kind of nonchalantly into our our desk trash can. And I made mine on the first try and I made like three in a row. And they didn't even include it cause they're like, it just doesn't track that Angela would like be a ringer or anything. And of course, Brian made his. And that is something you guys should know is that where our trailers were... Our trailers are where you hang out between scenes, right. Where our trailers were, they put up a basketball hoop and we would play horse in between scenes if we had a break. We would all go out there and play horse. And I have a photo of us. And Brian was an amazing shooter.
JENNA [00:27:00] Brian's an amazing athlete.
ANGELA [00:27:02] He's a great athlete.
JENNA [00:27:03] A great golfer.
ANGELA [00:27:04] So the cast knew this. And so when this episode came about, we all knew what a great shooter he was.
JENNA [00:27:10] But the writers and Greg didn't know.
ANGELA [00:27:12] They did not know. And so in between scenes, he would grab a basketball and just start shooting. And he, like, was just sinking them left and right. And it became a thing at the end of the episode. So you'll see him. They just let the camera roll. He makes one shot, gets it in from kind of close to the three point line. But then he keeps taking a step back. Step back. So by the end he's well at like three point range. And he made I think it was 13 or 14 in a row.
JENNA [00:27:42] We show three or four.
ANGELA [00:27:43] Yeah. But he actually made I think it was 14. And we all were there with like pins and needles. And when he missed the 15th one we all cheered. It was like so cool.
JENNA [00:27:52] OK. Should we take a quick break?
ANGELA [00:27:54] I think we should.
JENNA [00:27:57] Should we also talk about the Jim Pam part of this episode?
ANGELA [00:28:01] Yes. Yes. Because they have such an awkward, flirty scene that is so funny to me. First of all, I love that the subject of their flirt is the mall wave runners. This is so relatable to me because I have family that live in like northern Texas. And on the weekend, you go to the lake, you go to the mall.
JENNA [00:28:20] Yes, exactly. These are the choices. Jim is gonna go to the mall this weekend if he doesn't have to work.
ANGELA [00:28:25] The outlets.
JENNA [00:28:28] And then Pam said that if Roy wins, they're going to take the wave runners up to the lake.
ANGELA [00:28:32] Yeah. I love it.
JENNA [00:28:33] And Jim says, well, I think Roy's going to be working. So I think you're going to be coming to the mall with me, you know, just if you want to save big on brand names. Super cute. But I have to say, that whole wave runner back story.
ANGELA [00:28:44] Yeah.
JENNA [00:28:45] That was based on a backstory that I wrote about Pam and Roy that ended up making it into the show in this very subtle way. So I remember trying to justify, just as myself, why is Pam still engaged to Roy after three years? Because in this episode, you find out like they've been engaged for three years. Her little toaster oven is broken.
ANGELA [00:29:09] She's sad.
JENNA [00:29:10] That she got at her engagement party is broken. They're still not married. So I asked myself why? Why are they not married yet in three years? I came up with the reason that they had been saving money for the wedding.
ANGELA [00:29:25] Wait, wait, wait, wait. I have to pause. Because I love this about Jenna so much, you guys. This is her actor prep. She did this solely for herself.
JENNA [00:29:33] No one asked me to do.
ANGELA [00:29:34] No one asked her to do.
JENNA [00:29:35] I wrote it an essay form.
ANGELA [00:29:36] Again, Jenna. First of her name. Keeper of the notes.
JENNA [00:29:42] I would love to find this document. It was my Pam document. And I have all these little things I made.
ANGELA [00:29:46] Oh, my God. You have to find it. OK. So go.
JENNA [00:29:48] So my back story was that they had been saving money for the wedding and about a year into their engagement without telling Pam, Roy spent the money on a pair of wave runners with his brother.
ANGELA [00:30:01] Yeah, this is perfect.
JENNA [00:30:03] And he, you know, so he and his brother bought these pair of wave runners with their wedding money. But, you know, Roy was like, we're gonna have so much fun with these. So it broke Pam's hearts for the wave runners. Yeah. And I told Greg this story just bantering with him. And he was like, oh my gosh, I love that. We gotta put that in. We gotta put that in, the wave runners.
ANGELA [00:30:23] That is so good. I love that. I love, you know, I feel like as I talk to some of our cast members about our time on the show, we all had moments where we gave ourself a little box story like that. And obviously we won't get into it here. Mine with Sprinkles.
JENNA [00:30:35] You invented Sprinkles.
ANGELA [00:30:35] I did. But I did not know you did that about the wave runners. And that is absolutely what what Roy would have done. Yeah, he'd been like, listen, that money we're gonna spend on the wedding? I got a really good deal on wave runners.
JENNA [00:30:47] Yeah. He surprised her with some wave runners.
ANGELA [00:30:49] Oh, my God. That's amazing.
JENNA [00:30:51] What Pam's always wanted. And I have to say, this is a funny thing, David Denman and I really hit it off.
ANGELA [00:30:57] Yeah, you did.
JENNA [00:30:58] We are good friends in real life. We especially hit it off in this episode. And it was weird because I think I had spent a lot of time talking to John Krasinski between scenes and now I was talking to David Denman.
ANGELA [00:31:10] And John was like, hey, where's my chat buddy?
JENNA [00:31:16] Where'd my friend go?
ANGELA [00:31:16] But he became a really, really good friend of mine outside of The Office. And I think it was... I think it's probably a weird thing for people to imagine that one of my best connections on the show was with David Denman who played my jerk boyfriend.
JENNA [00:31:30] I'm sure right now if you guys went out for lunch and you and him walked in, people will be like, why are you with Roy?
ANGELA [00:31:34] It's so true. I had lunch with Rainn Wilson and people lost their mind. They were like, oh my God, Dwight and Angela.
JENNA [00:31:42] So next up, everyone goes down to the warehouse for the big basketball game. I feel like we should say from a production standpoint, we spent two days down in the warehouse playing basketball.
ANGELA [00:31:55] That's right.
JENNA [00:31:55] And there was a lot of the guys just playing basketball and they filmed them to get footage. But then there were all of these scripted moments that they had to get.
ANGELA [00:32:06] Right. To make the game make sense.
JENNA [00:32:07] Yes. Yeah, exactly. Can we speak about some highlights from the basketball game?
ANGELA [00:32:11] Let's do it. Let's do it.
JENNA [00:32:12] Rainn's crazy nose guard.
ANGELA [00:32:14] Oh my God. You know, I knew a guy in high school, Ken, he had to wear one. They're like... They're special.
JENNA [00:32:20] I guess this was Greg's idea. He wanted him to wear this nose guard. But you know what I love? We never mentioned it. We don't know why he's wearing out. Was he injured once or is he just afraid of injury? We don't know. But of course, he would wear it when Rainn takes his shirt off to be skins.
ANGELA [00:32:35] By the way, Rainn, I think, loves taking his shirt off.
JENNA [00:32:38] He loves the shock value of his white pasty body.
ANGELA [00:32:41] And he like to stick his belly out. And like pat it. Look at it. Speaking of Rainn taking off his t shirt, I have a note card about that shirt that Dwight wears in the basketball game. Now, this was really popular. I saw people commenting on this online when I looked back at the episode. All right. So Dwight is wearing a Japanese anime T-shirt in this game and it's of Konikotaka.
JENNA [00:33:02] All right.
ANGELA [00:33:03] Yes. All right. You're looking at me like, did you say that right? Here's the thing. I'm not sure someone Google it. Konikotaka. But it comes back in Hot Girl.
JENNA [00:33:11] It does?
ANGELA [00:33:13] Yes. OK. It's a Dwight deleted scene. But as you know, I found all the deleted scenes on probably some illegal site online.
JENNA [00:33:22] Because you still don't have a DVD player.
ANGELA [00:33:24] I don't. And now the cops are gonna come for me. Do they come for you? Anyway. I'm such a rule follower.
JENNA [00:33:32] But you refuse to wear your pantyhose. So which one is it, Angela? Do you follow the rules? Or do you break the rules?
ANGELA [00:33:39] I follow the police rules.
JENNA [00:33:40] Oh, OK.
ANGELA [00:33:40] But I'm going to put what I want on my body.
JENNA [00:33:44] Oh, snap, Angela.
ANGELA [00:33:46] OK. Anyway, here we go. Listen, in this Dwight deleted scene and Hot Girl and I'll talk about it here. So listen, guys, when you get to Hot Girl, just know we talked about it.
JENNA [00:33:56] We're not going to talk about this again. All right. You're getting a Kinsey tidbit about Hot Girl a little early. Yeah, but it's because it's tied in.
ANGELA [00:34:04] Yes, it's because I love that our writers kept doing these callbacks. Even if you didn't get to see them as the viewer, that was part of Dwight's character. So this t shirt that he wore in Basketball comes back in Hot Girl as a reference. He holds up a picture of Konikotaka and he says she is my perfect date. Ready? Here is a description of Konikotaka that I found online. OK. And remember, this is Dwight's idea of the perfect date.
JENNA [00:34:30] All right. This is the perfect woman. Dwight K Schrute's perfect woman is go.
ANGELA [00:34:34] OK, ready? Here's a description of her. She was orphaned at the age of 10 when both of her parents were assassinated, then taken in by a wealthy but very cruel businessman. So she practiced aikido in secrecy for years until she could avenge the death of her parents.
JENNA [00:34:49] Wow.
ANGELA [00:34:50] That's Dwight's perfect date. Can we also just for a minute... none of us knew what it was going to look like when Stanley dribbled the basketball.
JENNA [00:35:00] It was in the script that he is not good at dribbling.
ANGELA [00:35:02] That is all. That's all. And that Michael would look and just have this moment of like, oh, crap. Like, are you kidding me? And that dribble that Leslie David Baker did with his hand high and ridiculous was so perfect.
JENNA [00:35:18] It was literal perfection.
ANGELA [00:35:19] Yeah.
JENNA [00:35:19] There's another moment in the basketball game that's coming to mind. There's a moment where Michael is supposed to, as a joke, it was in the script. He's supposed to like throw the ball from really far. And it doesn't go in. And then he's supposed to like be all upset. Like I usually make those or whatever. The first time, do you remember what happened the first time? He made it.
ANGELA [00:35:42] He made the most ridiculous like alley oop from the other side of the warehouse and we all cheer. And they were like, no, you guys can't cheer. He doesn't make that.
JENNA [00:35:52] It was so amazing.
ANGELA [00:35:54] I'm sure Steve was like, oh, man, I wish that could go in.
JENNA [00:35:56] I know that should be a deleted scene. That was crazy.
ANGELA [00:35:59] Oh, you have to tell about when John actually got hurt. We actually had a real injury and they just kept the camera rolling.
JENNA [00:36:06] They did. This was not scripted. The part where Roy knocks Jim in the nose and his nose is bleeding.
ANGELA [00:36:12] That was just David Denman blocking, like getting a ball and blocking out.
JENNA [00:36:16] There was some real basketball competition when they were playing.
ANGELA [00:36:20] So the dude's got a little testosteroney.
JENNA [00:36:23] They got a little duty.
ANGELA [00:36:23] Yeah, they got a little duty. But he did. He threw his elbow back. Not knowing that John was there and clocked John.
JENNA [00:36:29] And his nose started gushing blood.
ANGELA [00:36:31] I think that sound you hear is his nose.
JENNA [00:36:33] I asked Dave Rodgers, our editor. Yes. Because I remember the debate when they were editing this episode.
ANGELA [00:36:38] Well, we heard it in real time.
JENNA [00:36:40] You can hear it in real life.
ANGELA [00:36:40] We were like, dang.
JENNA [00:36:42] Yes. We knew. We're like, is his nose broken? And we had to pause and like, ice pack him.
ANGELA [00:36:46] First of all, they didn't stop rolling. They kept documenting it. And so we see that John ran off because he was in pain and his nose starts bleeding. And I didn't know what to do. So I picked up that frickin first aid kit and I walked over to him. And then I was like, wait, what am I doing? There's nothing in that kit. It's like empty. Was that sound really it?
JENNA [00:37:07] Apparently that the live audio was not strong enough to use. So they pumped it up, they added a popping sound. So that it would more sound like what we heard in real life. Because I did ask Dave.
ANGELA [00:37:18] I was worried John broke his nose.
JENNA [00:37:19] We all were. And then they also told me at a certain point they had to stop it where they stopped it because blood was dripping on the floor. It looked a little gruesome.
ANGELA [00:37:28] All right. I have another note card. I read a great article where David Denman was asked if he thought he could beat John Krasinski in one on one basketball in a real basketball game.
JENNA [00:37:38] What did he say?
ANGELA [00:37:40] David or John? So this is a direct quote from David. "John, one hundred percent.".
JENNA [00:37:47] What?
ANGELA [00:37:47] "One hundred percent. His whole family. I mean, they're giants and they're all a basketball family. So, no, I'm not even going to pretend to play opposite that I would have a shot. "
JENNA [00:37:55] John Krazinski is one of three boys and John is something like 6'3". He is the shortest of his brothers.
ANGELA [00:38:02] Yes. So here's the thing. John had always told us I'm the shortest in my family and we'd be like, that's crazy, you'er 6'3". And then I went to the premiere of Leatherheads. And his whole family came and I met his brothers. It was ridiculous. John is the shortest. It's so crazy that he's the runt of the family. He has a brother who's 6'6" and one who's 6'10".
JENNA [00:38:26] What? His one brother is 6'10".
ANGELA [00:38:28] Yes.
JENNA [00:38:29] I knew they were taller than him, but I mean, that is insane. John might be like 6'4." We had a lot of really tall men on our set. David Denman is very tall. Rainn Wilson.
ANGELA [00:38:42] Brian.
JENNA [00:38:42] Yeah. I mean, big guys.
ANGELA [00:38:43] Big guys. I will tell you on The Office I work three inch heels because I was so short whenever I was in scenes next to Rainn Wilson. And if you look at Dwight and Angela, a lot of times he is seated and I'm standing.
JENNA [00:38:56] I feel like there were times when they made you stand on a box. Is that true? Did you ever stand on a box to do a scene with him? Or you would be on stairs and you would be like three stairs up?
ANGELA [00:39:05] They had a whole apple box. They would fly in for me on the ready. I was standing on a box all the time. OK, moving on. Don't look at my note cards, Jenna.
JENNA [00:39:15] I'm not looking at your note card.
ANGELA [00:39:18] I want you to be surprised. Okay, so I have a note card Jenna that, you know, you're talking about the boys playing basketball, but actually, you know there are two women in this game.
JENNA [00:39:26] Of course. Yes. Phyllis and Marge.
ANGELA [00:39:29] Madge.
JENNA [00:39:30] Madge and Madge. Marge from The Simpsons.
ANGELA [00:39:34] That's right. Madge. And her name is Madge Madsen. And she is played by Karly Rothenberg, who did a fantastic job. What I loved so much in the game is I don't know if you noticed when you watched, but Dwight was assigned to man up with Madge. So there's all this great Madge and Dwight... And Dwight regards Madge the way I feel like 12 year old boys regarded me. Like, you know, when the boy shoves you and is like, hey, you're like, what? What's the deal? He's really physical with her if you watch the game and she totally gives it right back to him. So anyway, I love that Madge and Phyllis get in the game. I just thought that was really fun to watch.
JENNA [00:40:13] Also, we have to talk about Michael's free throw moment.
ANGELA [00:40:15] Oh my god, that made me laugh so hard.
JENNA [00:40:18] That is an example of Steve Carrell's impeccable comedic timing. He does not rush. He makes you wait for it. You know when he's setting up this ridiculous free throw, that it's not gonna go in. We all know it's not gonna go in. And yet somehow he makes us wait so long that it's even funnier.
ANGELA [00:40:39] Yeah.
JENNA [00:40:39] And he throws it completely out of the warehouse.
ANGELA [00:40:43] He throws it over the whole hoop.
JENNA [00:40:45] It's great too because, you know, someone has to run and get that ball. You don't see it happen. But you know that moment when you're playing basketball. And someone way overthrows it and you're like, now I have to go get it.
ANGELA [00:40:55] The Basketball episode I think has some of the best quotes of the whole first season. So many good ones. You have one of the best ones that really I've seen on T-shirts and coffee mugs.
JENNA [00:41:07] So I used to sign headshots with this line.
ANGELA [00:41:12] Do it.
JENNA [00:41:13] Please don't throw garbage at me. I love it. I feel like it sums up Pam's entire relationship with Michael. The fact that she has to say the words please don't throw garbage at me to her boss, just... It says it all.
ANGELA [00:41:31] It says it all. And also, you know, it's not the first time she said it.
JENNA [00:41:34] No. No. Or something like it.
ANGELA [00:41:36] That's right. Yeah. And he throws that at your head and goes off the backboard. So ridiculous.
JENNA [00:41:41] Please don't throw garbage at me, Michael. Everything she's had to endure is all in that one line. She's been working there for probably three or four years now. Three or four years of garbage thrown at her head.
ANGELA [00:41:54] In a relationship that's going nowhere. Poor Pam! All right. I don't know. What else can we talk about about Basketball, you guys? I do love that this episode ended, of course, with Kevin sinking all of those shots. It was like so great. And yet nothing in the office is resolved. And are they all going to have to work Saturday?
JENNA [00:42:13] He says no one has to come in.
ANGELA [00:42:15] Oh, that's right. That's right. That's right.
JENNA [00:42:17] He says, like we're gonna be downsized if we skip one Saturday.
ANGELA [00:42:21] Exactly.
JENNA [00:42:23] And everybody's like, wait what?
ANGELA [00:42:23] So you do end on this sense of like nothing's OK. Nothing.
JENNA [00:42:28] Nothing's really different.
ANGELA [00:42:29] And nothing is different. Nothing has been solved. OK. So that was Basketball.
JENNA [00:42:34] That's the Basketball episode.
ANGELA [00:42:36] I loved watching it again.
JENNA [00:42:38] I have loved watching the show again. In general, people come up to us all the time. Especially, now that the show has been out on Netflix and there is a whole new generation of fans. People really wig out after so many years. I think I had lost some perspective on how good the show was. Like I knew it was good, but I hadn't watched it in years. And so because of this podcast, I was forced to sit down and watch these episodes. And now when people come up to me and tell me the show is good, I'm like, I know. I mean, can you even believe it? Can you believe I was on it? That was me. I was on it. That was cool.
ANGELA [00:43:11] That's so cool.
JENNA [00:43:12] It's amazing. Let's chat about it.
ANGELA [00:43:13] Yeah. Yeah. No, absolutely. And I get why it's comfort for people. You know, I really do. You can put it on in the background and it's there. And, you know, we've talked about this before, but like Dwight's always gonna be Dwight and accounting is accounting. And you've got Pam and Jim there. And they become your little family in the background as you wind down from your day. I'm so thrilled that the show still keeps finding an audience. It just is so wonderful for me and for you and everyone involved.
JENNA [00:43:40] But I have a tiny gripe.
ANGELA [00:43:41] What?
JENNA [00:43:42] After rewatching this show. Do you know that not a single actor on our television show ever won an Emmy for their performance?
ANGELA [00:43:50] Oh, we're going there.
JENNA [00:43:53] Including Steve Carrell.
ANGELA [00:43:53] I was trying to wrap it up with a bow.
JENNA [00:43:55] No, I have a gripe.
ANGELA [00:43:55] Jenna's like, wait, let me b*** for one second.
JENNA [00:43:57] I'm ending with a gripe.
ANGELA [00:43:59] Oh, God. Here we go.
JENNA [00:43:59] It is an absolute crime that Steve Carell was never awarded the top prize in his industry for the television acting for the role of Michael Scott. Because I kind of dare you to name another comedic male performance sort of as revolutionary and heartbreaking and funny and real as his performance on that show.
ANGELA [00:44:21] No, it was brilliant. He won the Golden Globe. The show won best comedy ensemble. We won an Emmy. We won some SAG awards. But Steve never won an Emmy. And the final year he was nominated because his character was ending his time in The Office. It was his final nomination. It was me, you and John Krasinski in a row on the aisle. And Steve, I think, was right in front of us or he was down a row and they had a camera on us as they announced the nominees and then they announced the winner and the camera was right on us. And when they didn't say Steve's name, I said, mother effer out loud. And I don't curse, guys. I'm not a big curser. And it just flew out of my mouth because I couldn't believe it. And then I was instantly horrified because I thought, oh, no, was I just on national television saying mother effer? I'm about to get a call from my mom. I know it. And her ladies in her Bible study are gonna be like Angela said mother effer. But they cut away very fast. So I don't think you saw it. But that's how we felt. We couldn't believe it, couldn't believe it, because his work in this show is brilliant. And our cast and our writers and everyone, they just did such an amazing job. There you go. Not ending with a nice bow, but there you go.
JENNA [00:45:37] Next week is Hot Girl.
ANGELA [00:45:38] Hot Girl Amy Adams.
JENNA [00:45:42] Thank you for listening to Office Ladies. Office Ladies is produced by Earwolf, Jenna Fischer, and Angela Kinsey. Our producer is Codi Fischer, our sound engineer Sam Kieffer.
ANGELA [00:45:52] And our theme song is Rubber Tree by Creed Bratton. Remember, you can listen to ad free versions of Office Ladies on Stitcher Premium. For a free month of Stitcher Premium use code Office.