TRANSCRIPT
Office Ladies | Episode 304 - More Casual Friday
Jenna [00:00:04] I'm Jenna Fischer,
Angela [00:00:05] and I'm Angela Kinsey.
Jenna [00:00:06] We were on "The Office" together,
Angela [00:00:08] and we're best friends.
Jenna [00:00:09] And now we're doing the ultimate Office lover's podcast, just for you.
Angela [00:00:13] Each week we will dive deeper into the world of The Office with exclusive interviews, behind the scenes details, and lots of BFF stories.
Jenna [00:00:21] We're the Office Ladies 6.0.
audio cue [00:00:01] [musical sting]
Jenna [00:00:01] Hello!
Angela [00:00:01] Hello! Hello, everybody. Lady, we're sort of dressed the same.
Jenna [00:00:06] We're dressed the same and we're both recording from our home offices today in black t-shirts.
Angela [00:00:12] And black glasses.
Jenna [00:00:14] Did you put any makeup on today?
Angela [00:00:17] Do I look like it?
Jenna [00:00:20] Did you do your hair?
Angela [00:00:22] This is day two hair, because I had like kind of a fun job yesterday.
Jenna [00:00:26] Yeah, your hair looks good.
Angela [00:00:28] Thank you. I didn't make any other effort and then I have day two hair.
Jenna [00:00:32] I mean, for me, I've always felt like if my hair looks good, that's more important than putting on makeup, for me.
Angela [00:00:42] For sure, for sure.
Jenna [00:00:43] Which is why I'm so very excited to have hair again. I have a full bob now.
Angela [00:00:48] You do, and it's so cute and sassy. I love it.
Jenna [00:00:51] I think I'm going to grow it two or three more inches, just where it just brushes the shoulder.
Angela [00:00:58] You know, I cut three inches off my hair. Sorry, guys, this is a lot of talk about haircuts and whatnot but I mean, I like a summer trim.
Jenna [00:01:06] Same.
Angela [00:01:07] I know we're talking a lot about hair right now, but it is 98 degrees out today.
Jenna [00:01:11] It is.
Angela [00:01:12] It is so hot.
Jenna [00:01:14] And yet, we are casual. We are casual today.
Angela [00:01:19] Look at you go! You're working in our episode. I love it.
Jenna [00:01:22] Did you like that? Did you like that?
Angela [00:01:24] I did like it. So why don't we share with everyone what we're doing today. Well this episode was inspired by some mail we got in our Second Drink folder specifically about the episode "Casual Friday" from season 5. It kind of got us investigating this episode again and there was so much we wanted to discuss. It was too much for a Second Drink, so today we're bringing it to 6.0 and we're gonna dive in.
Angela [00:01:49] We are. You guys, we went into the scripts, the Candy Bag alts, and we're also gonna discuss the new scenes that were added to the Super Fan. Here's the beautiful thing about The Office, each time I re-watch it (and I know you guys listening out there do this too) I feel like I discover something new. Let me tell ya, I loved our original breakdown of this episode. It's a really good one.
Jenna [00:02:13] Yeah.
Angela [00:02:13] If you wanna listen to something on a road trip or a slow day at work. I mean, Brian Baumgartner comes on, he talks about that famous Chili Cold Open. We also talked with Randy Cordray, our producer, our costume designer, Alysia Raycraft, Kate Flannery, I mean we really dug in.
Jenna [00:02:30] But also, we got info from Creed Bratton, from John Krasinski, and from director Brent Forrester. I mean, it is a stacked episode. Yet, if you can believe it, we have even more to discuss today. But first, I think we should do our chit chat question. It was sent in by Freya N. in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania.
Freya N. [00:02:50] Hey Office Ladies, my name is Freya. I was wondering, because you guys talk a lot about food and snacking on the podcast. So I'm interested to know what is your perfect food day? Like breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert. You can eat anything. You can fly anywhere in the world. Unlimited amount of money. Calories don't count, no allergies. Yeah, so anything goes. But yeah, I'm just curious to know what would be your perfect food day? What would you be eating for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert? Again, I love your podcast, and I hope you continue to do this for many, many years to come. Thank you, bye.
Jenna [00:03:44] Oh, Freya, I would need to start by saying I feel so seen by you, particularly because you mentioned our love of snacks as well as all food. And lady, I have a new snack.
Angela [00:03:56] What?! You're coming in hot.
Jenna [00:03:58] I'm sorry. OK, you know I love cheddar cracker sort of things. You know this.
Angela [00:04:05] Oh, I know this.
Jenna [00:04:06] You know I ate those Trader Joe's cheddar crackers by the box load.
Angela [00:04:11] I've seen you eat like half a box.
Jenna [00:04:14] And then after that, I got super obsessed with the Cheddar Bunnies. I have a new one. I discovered them when I was in Chicago, and I can't stop. They are Simple Mills Almond Flour Farmhouse Cheddar Crackers. It's the texture. It's the way, like when you eat it, it's so good.
Angela [00:04:38] OK, I'm sold. I'll try it.
Jenna [00:04:40] Well, Freya, my first answer to your question is my snack would be Cheddar crackers.
Angela [00:04:47] My snack is still and has been for decades a cheese stick and some pretzels. And we all know I chomp, I don't pull the string. Okay, let's get over it.
Jenna [00:04:56] Okay, well, what is our perfect food day? Where are we having breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert? No limitations. Lee and I play this game sometimes. It's really fun. What are we gonna do?
Angela [00:05:06] Let's go back and forth. You say breakfast, I say breakfast. Let's back and forth.
Jenna [00:05:10] Okay, I wanna go to France for breakfast.
Angela [00:05:13] Ooh la la, oh, because that's right, Freya said we could go wherever.
Jenna [00:05:16] Yes, so I want to go to France and I want to have a single awesome French press coffee. I want have some muesli with some fresh, fresh yogurt. And I want some delicious pastries.
Angela [00:05:31] Okay, you know, I'm not a huge breakfast eater. You know this. But I love Josh's homemade granola. I do. My favorite thing is to eat his granola and I take some bananas and I chop them up and I have peanut butter and honey and Josh's granola and I kind of mix it all together. That's one of my favorite breakfasts.
Jenna [00:05:51] Okay, I like that answer.
Angela [00:05:52] Okay, lunch.
Jenna [00:05:54] Lunch, I've shared about this before on the podcast. I want to go back to Tokyo and go to the Shibuya food show and maybe just have some chicken ramen or a bento box. But I am going to Japan for lunch.
Angela [00:06:11] Okay, okay, I love lunch. It's one of my favorite things, if you get to splurge and go out for lunch, you know? Because I feel like I'm always just having a sandwich at home. So, if I get to go out, oh, you what I love?
Jenna [00:06:27] What?
Angela [00:06:29] I love just like a little mom and pop, Mexican food place. There's one in the Valley, here in Los Angeles, called Tony's Mexican Grill. I love their lunch combos, like a cheese enchilada, a crispy shell taco, a tamale. That is like one of the best lunches.
Jenna [00:06:51] Okay. Dinner.
Angela [00:06:54] Dinner. I'm going far for dinner, lady.
Jenna [00:06:57] Where are you going?
Angela [00:06:59] I want to take you guys to Singapore. You guys know I grew up in Indonesia. We'd go to Singapore a lot. Listen, you need to go to a hawker center. I've been to Laupasat. There's a bunch. But it is a culinary experience, Jenna. It is amazing. Like, there's just about every type of food that you would want to try. I mean, there's a street called Satay Street and you can get different types of satay.
Jenna [00:07:23] Wow.
Angela [00:07:24] Lady, it is truly such a cool experience and the food is so good. By the way, it's open all day. So if you wanted to do breakfast and lunch there, you could, but I would take you there for dinner. We'd get some nasi goreng, some really good fried rice, some chicken satay, there's - Oh my goodness, you could be there for hours.
Jenna [00:07:43] That sounds amazing.
Angela [00:07:44] Okay.
Jenna [00:07:45] I like that.
Angela [00:07:45] What about about you?
Jenna [00:07:47] For dinner? I don't know, I love Indian food.
Angela [00:07:51] Oh, you really do.
Jenna [00:07:52] I love Italian food. I love a smash burger.
Angela [00:07:56] I love a smash burger.
Jenna [00:07:57] Can I leave dinner open for like, "What am I feeling?" Those would be my three things. I'm having one of those three things for dinner.
Angela [00:08:05] Freya, we are clearly very passionate about this question. It's like our brains are breaking over it.
Jenna [00:08:11] A little bit. But I know my dessert, hardcore. I want a delicious strawberry and rhubarb pie with a nice scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Angela [00:08:23] Well, one of my favorite all time desserts is a chocolate meringue pie. My mom made them for me growing up. Now Josh makes it for me. I get one every year on my birthday and I will fight you for it. If you come for my chocolate meringue... Like, I think I've told you this lady, Josh's friend Devin was over and Josh was like, "Hey, Devin wants a piece of pie," and I'm like, "Not a big piece." Like, I pulled him aside and was like, "Just give him a little slice."
Jenna [00:08:48] That's very funny. Yeah, and you know for me, strawberry rhubarb pie is the one thing I will not bake myself, because rhubarb is such a high-maintenance thing. It's time-consuming, and I've never cooked it. I've never made it. But if I'm anywhere and I see rhubarb on a menu, I'm ordering it 100%.
Angela [00:09:10] You're all about it.
Jenna [00:09:11] I love it. I get so excited.
Angela [00:09:13] Well, there you go, Freya. Thank you so much for sending in that question.
Jenna [00:09:17] Yeah.
Angela [00:09:18] I'm hungry now!
Jenna [00:09:20] I'm realizing I don't have any of those crackers, and I'm going to have to put them on the shopping list for later today.
Angela [00:09:25] Send me a link. I want to get some.
Jenna [00:09:27] Alright. Oh, I'll bring them into the studio next time we're in studio. Alright, well, why don't we take a break? And then when we come back, we're going to dive into Casual Friday.
Angela [00:09:35] I have some fun digital clutter shares and I also found something hilarious online I want to talk about.
Jenna [00:09:41] Oh, yay! I can't wait.
audio cue [00:09:42] [musical sting]
Angela [00:09:45] Well, welcome back. Let's dive into some Casual Friday. Why don't we start with, wait for it... It's been a while, guys, but I'm gonna go into my digital clutter.
Jenna [00:09:55] I'm very excited for this. I don't know what this is.
Angela [00:09:58] I know you don't. I was looking through my old emails to see if you and I had exchanged any while we were filming this episode, and I found something that really cracked me up.
Jenna [00:10:07] What?
Angela [00:10:07] Okay, so here's what we were doing during this time in our lives. This email happened right after we filmed Casual Friday. I guess we were just starting "Company Picnic." There were lots of festivities going on for that 100th episode of The Office, right? Including a party and we talked a little bit about this before, you know, when the 100th Episode of The Office came around and Company Picnic. But I did not share this email that I found and I'm going to read it to you.
Jenna [00:10:37] Okay.
Angela [00:10:39] This is April 19th, 2009, 2:31 a.m.
Jenna [00:10:45] What?
Angela [00:10:46] From Jenna Fischer to Angela Kinsey.
Jenna [00:10:49] I can't believe I was awake at that time, at any time in my life.
Angela [00:10:54] Subject title: "Toilet."
Jenna [00:11:01] [laughing] What? What is this?
Angela [00:11:03] And then this is what the body of the email says. "Yep, I'm on the toilet. I figured this was easier than texting and it is keeping me occupied as I deal with whatever is wrong with me."
Jenna [00:11:19] [laughing] Oh my God.
Angela [00:11:21] "Ugh. I'm just praying it isn't the flu. But if it is, I am profoundly grateful that it didn't hit three days ago, or something," because I think that's while we were filming. You go on to say, "I wish I had good gossip from the party. My favorite conversation was with Jeff Blitz and Jen Salata. I told them the story of how you wrote, 'water' on your water bottle instead of your name when you were sleep deprived after having the baby. Jen said one time when they passed the Starbucks order sheet, she wrote that she wanted an Andy talking head because she was so wiped."
Jenna [00:11:59] [laughing]
Angela [00:11:59] "They also made a 100 moments montage. I really wish you could have been there. Okay, I'm heading to bed now. I'm not feeling so hot. Now I wanna throw up. Talk tomorrow, hope this passes, Jenna."
Jenna [00:12:11] Oh my gosh.
Angela [00:12:13] Okay, lady, my response. 7:44 a.m., same day. "Ugh lady, so sorry. Definitely just take care of yourself. I am bummed that I wasn't there to celebrate our 100 EPs, but honestly, my night here was great. I'm glad my sitter bailed. I was so happy to be with my little gal. Right now, Isabel and I are eating Cheerios and watching dolphins jump. I get why people live by the beach. I hope you feel better. Sent via Blackberry by AT&T" and that is because I had rented a little place near where we were filming Company Picnic because I didn't want Isabel to be in a car seat for an hour and I wanted her to be with me because I didn't work every day. I'm not in that episode a ton, you know? So I made it like a little mini vacay and yeah, I guess I had a babysitter that bailed so I didn't get to go. You did have a follow-up email that said, "Thank God I'm feeling better. Oh, and one other thing from the party. I watched a certain someone hit on a bunch of women and one person dirty dance up on their boyfriend."
Jenna [00:13:20] [laughing] Oh my God.
Angela [00:13:21] [laughing] I'm not gonna mention names. I've got good digital clutter, lady.
Jenna [00:13:28] Lady, you know, I want you to have less emails in your inbox but I love your digital clutter share so much. Please never clean out your inbox, please.
Angela [00:13:40] When I found this (for everyone listening) I left Jenna a message and I was like, "You will not believe what I'm reading in my email right now, it's bringing me such joy."
Jenna [00:13:51] Alright, well, that was a great kickoff. I have some trivia that I found in my digital clutter. It's not nearly as good as that, but I did find out that the original title for Casual Friday was "Office Reunited."
Angela [00:14:06] Huh. I mean, I think Casual Friday is such a more zippy title. Don't you?
Jenna [00:14:09] It is, but I mean this episode is where Michael, Pam and Ryan come back from working at Michael Scott Paper Company so it is, like, you know?
Angela [00:14:19] That would describe what was happening, yeah
Jenna [00:14:21] Yeah, but Casual Friday, far superior title, yes.
Angela [00:14:24] OK, well, this episode opens with that famous Kevin Chili scene, right? We talked about it a lot on the podcast. Like we said in our original breakdown, Brian actually talks all about it. We also discuss it with Aaron Shure, who wrote it. But I have some new trivia for you.
Jenna [00:14:40] Oh?
Angela [00:14:40] Yeah. It's about that scene, and it's thanks to a letter from Michael B. in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. Michael says, "I just acquired some of Pam's items that NBC auctioned off from her desk. Some of the papers were 'Dunder Mifflin accounting actuals,' which I believe are actually just lists of some of Phil Shea's prop purchases, but printed on Dunder-Mifflin letterhead. For this episode, it lists that three 'aged chili pots' were purchased from a company named Studio Art and Technology for $163.88."
Jenna [00:15:16] Oh my gosh!
Angela [00:15:18] Isn't that wild?
Jenna [00:15:20] Wow! That is a really cool keepsake.
Angela [00:15:23] I know, and you know, Phil would do that, right? He would take just like... I mean, office papers, even from our own production office, and use them as props on the set.
Jenna [00:15:32] Yeah, aw, that's neat.
Angela [00:15:35] Yeah, I thought so too. Thanks for writing in, Michael.
Jenna [00:15:39] I've got a little background catch, a new one. It's at 2 minutes and 16 seconds. It is in that conference room scene that opens the episode. I did not notice this before, but Creed has his eyes closed. I wondered, "Was this a forgotten storyline? Why are his closed?"
Angela [00:15:58] Yeah, I saw that too and some folks had commented on that and I couldn't find anything in the scripts about that but I took a screen grab of that moment and I texted it to Creed and I said, "Creed, are you pretending to meditate in this moment?" I mean, it is Casual Friday. He looks like he's dressed in some type of yoga/spa retreat outfit. Creed wrote back, "Well, I don't know but that sounds as good a reason as any. I think meditation sounds right" and then I wrote back, "Ha, well I'm convinced that was your acting choice." He wrote back and said, "Method all the way, pumpkin."
Jenna [00:16:33] Yeah, it wasn't in the script. I checked the script to see if there was something that says like, "Creed is gonna spend the day meditating," or something. I think that was his added little layer.
Angela [00:16:45] Creed thinks so, too. Well, we also got this letter from a listener in Santa Clarita, California. Evelyn R. said, "Hey ladies, I'm a long time listener and now I have my husband hooked on your podcast. I loved this episode and was curious what the script said about everyone's Casual Friday outfits. How were they described?" And you know what, Jenna? I realized I didn't do a costume breakdown for Casual Friday.
Jenna [00:17:10] What?!
Angela [00:17:11] I know.
Jenna [00:17:11] You're right!
Angela [00:17:12] I always do those.
Jenna [00:17:13] You always do them.
Angela [00:17:15] I know! Well, Evelyn, I went to our shooting draft and I found some amazing tidbits. In answer to your question, here's what it said in the script about what people were wearing in that first conference room scene. It said, "Interior, conference room. Everyone is there. People are dressed in casual attire. Stanley in a t-shirt, Oscar in a windbreaker and jeans, Kelly in a jumpsuit, Dwight wears the same outfit as usual, but with no tie. Andy is wearing a shirt that says, 'Ben Dover U,' and on the back, 'apply within' with an arrow pointing to his butt."
Jenna [00:17:53] Okay. So it's very interesting that the script said that about Andy's shirt because I noticed Andy's shirt on this rewatch and I got curious about it because what he's actually wearing is a blue t-shirt that says "Ask me about my butt" written in white letters but the word 'ask' is spelled a-s-s-k the "ass" part is in red. It's in big letters. So it's capital a ss and then little k, and it's such an odd shirt. I have to imagine it was made for this episode.
Angela [00:18:29] What do you think Ed thought when he showed up to his costume fitting and they're like, "You're wearing a shirt that just says 'ass' on it." I'd be like, "What the hell?" And I just can't believe we didn't talk about it in our original breakdown. I did take a screen grab of it and you can plainly see, at 18 minutes and six seconds, his shirt. I also want to point out that in that same scene you can see that Toby is wearing a sweatshirt that says "Costa Rica."
Jenna [00:18:54] I loved that detail.
Angela [00:18:55] I did too. And Oscar does have on a windbreaker, all day long, even though he's inside. Then I also found this gem about Kelly's outfit in the Candy Bag alts. Jenna, I think we should both read it, okay? I want you to read Kelly's lines and I'm gonna read Erin's, okay?
Jenna [00:19:12] Okay.
Angela [00:19:13] Okay and I'll do the stage direction. Ready?
Jenna [00:19:16] Yes.
Angela [00:19:17] Kelly costume interior annex. Kelly wearing hip overalls and a fancy bra. Erin is walking through. Kelly says, "Do I look okay? Toby said I'm dressed inappropriately."
Jenna [00:19:31] "Oh, no. I think you look great. Very cool. Are those condom earrings?"
Angela [00:19:36] "Yeah. I designed them myself."
Jenna [00:19:37] "People really went all out. I feel a little underdressed."
Angela [00:19:40] "You could use a little work. What kind of bra do you have going on under there?" Condom earrings she made herself?
Jenna [00:19:48] Yeah.
Angela [00:19:49] Oh, man.
Jenna [00:19:54] Lady, I have a question.
Angela [00:19:55] Oh, OK.
Jenna [00:19:56] Are we too old to do the trend where you wear a suit, but you're not wearing a shirt? You just have a bra underneath?
Angela [00:20:05] So you're wearing a blazer with just a bra?
Jenna [00:20:08] Right.
Angela [00:20:09] Do you see any of the bra? Or is it just like the hint that you... Like, what's going on here? Do I see the bra or do you?
Jenna [00:20:14] No, it's obvious I don't have a shirt on. It's very obvious. Now I do a thing all the time, it's my favorite look, where I wear a bustier underneath my suit. It looks like a strapless bustier under my suit. It goes into my pants and everything. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about a lace bra. So what I've seen is skin to the pant.
Angela [00:20:41] But you're not seeing the bra. It just looks like you have on no clothes and a jacket. Am I understanding? Am I understanding?
Jenna [00:20:46] Nope, you see the bra. You see the lace bra peeking out underneath the jacket.
Angela [00:20:51] I mean, you know what, why not? Why not? Just let me live, you know? If you wanna do it, do it. If that's your look, go for it. I don't know. I just think just own your style, if that's you style. I think I would be just, I don't know... I think would be futzing with all of it all night because I'd be like, "I'm not sure where the fabric's supposed to be." But recently, a friend of mine who's 60 did the black bra under a white kind of crocheted top. And she was like, "This is like a trend now. And I like it." And I was like, "Do it." And yeah, and I thought she looked great.
Jenna [00:21:37] Yeah, I think now in my 50's, since I've moved into the zero F's portion of my life, I sorta feel like it.
Angela [00:21:50] I think you should do it. Do it.
Jenna [00:21:51] It's not even about sexiness, or whatever. I didn't feel like finding a shirt. It was too much effort.
Angela [00:22:03] That's funnier, that's funny to me. Wait, let's just peel back the onion. Is that this isn't about fashion. This is just, you don't feel like finding a shirt. So you have a jacket, you have bra, call it a day.
Jenna [00:22:16] Well, I found this great suit, and I love the pants, and I love the jacket. I tried on probably, I don't know, eight shirts. None of them looked good. At a certain point, I just put the jacket on, and I was like, "You know what? Maybe this is what it is. I'm done." No shirt. Just f**k it.
Angela [00:22:40] I mean, all your bits and bobs are covered. Who cares?
Jenna [00:22:41] I mean, they're more than covered.
Angela [00:22:44] Yeah. Lady, I have a pair of shorts that are just old and they're my favorite and they are getting a little ratty They're cutoffs, you know? I put them on the other day and they're short and I thought, "Oh gosh. I'm 55. I probably shouldn't be wearing short jean cutoffs right?"
Jenna [00:23:02] Mm-hmm.
Angela [00:23:03] And I came downstairs in them and Josh immediately was like, "[sexy voice] ...hey." And so I was like, "Well, you know what? I guess I still can rock them."
Jenna [00:23:14] I say wear them.
Angela [00:23:16] Yeah. You know who would wear them? How's this transition?
Jenna [00:23:19] What?
Angela [00:23:20] Meredith. Meredith is the queen of zero F's.
Jenna [00:23:23] Well, wait a second. Wait a second, now I don't know. I don't know if I want to be using Meredith as my style inspiration. Incidentally, I was curious how the shooting draft described Meredith's Casual Friday look. And here's what it said. After Toby reprimands her, it says, "Meredith becomes defensive and stands up. She's wearing a tube dress that's riding a little too high." But you know what happened, she was a woman in her 50's. She was standing in her closet and she was like, "I'm tired, I'm not gonna put anything else with this. This is it."
Angela [00:24:03] Yeah, that's all Meredith had for that day. She was done. OK, well, I was curious if "Casual Friday" was still a thing in offices, right? So I went online. I did my googling. Lady, first of all, can you guess which department? Matt, feel free to weigh in on this as well. Guess which department in corporate offices has been labeled as the most casually dressed by folks online?
Jenna [00:24:32] IT?
Angela [00:24:33] Yes! Yes. IT, you got it right away. Matt, you didn't even get a chance to chime in.
Matt [00:24:38] I didn't get a chance. It was too high. I had to familiarize myself with the various different departments.
Angela [00:24:43] You were going through your head like, "Human resources, accounting..." IT is notoriously the most casual of any corporate office. Then I found a Reddit thread that had some fun shares about this whole Casual Friday office tradition. So basically, you guys, it really has become a thing of the past, not to be a whomp whomp. But a lot of people in the 2000's said they would have to dress up Monday through Thursday, you know, suit and tie, but on Friday they were allowed to wear khakis with no tie. That was sort of the standard corporate office thing.
Jenna [00:25:17] Yeah, what's interesting about that is that Casual Friday was not even fully casual. It didn't even mean jeans. It just meant less corporate, but you were still sort of business casual, I think.
Angela [00:25:31] Yeah, Casual Friday was basically Dwight in this episode.
Jenna [00:25:35] Yes, exactly.
Angela [00:25:37] And then another person wrote in and said, "My offices actually got every other Friday off. And we used to call our working Friday Aloha Friday. And many people wore Hawaiian shirts. That was early 2000's, and over time, many of the Hawaiian shirt wearers retired. I recently brought back a few Aloha shirts and started wearing them on Fridays. And one of the old timers said, "Damn, I forgot all about Aloha Friday." A much younger coworker asked what that was. So we explained that in the old days, many people would wear Hawaiian/Aloha shirts on Fridays. She asked if we could do that again. And we both said, "Of course, just wear an Aloha shirt." And lady, this made me think of our crew. Remember our crew on Fridays would often wear a Hawaiian shirt?
Jenna [00:26:23] They would.
Angela [00:26:24] Yeah. But now we're the old timers.
Jenna [00:26:27] We are. That's an old-fashioned tradition.
Angela [00:26:30] I know! And then this fellow from Germany wrote in with this curveball. He said in the thread, "Does your office have a Non-Casual Fridays?" This really got people chatting, OK? He said he works in IT, and since his department usually just wears jeans and t-shirts, a group of them thought it would be fun to introduce a Non Casual Friday as a bit of a joke, where people actually dress up, and often kind of formally. Folks love this. Lady, people shared that they do Fancy Fridays or "Formal Fridays," or they'll have like Tie Thursdays. Isn't that so funny?
Jenna [00:27:06] Yeah, it's so crazy because the pandemic really changed office fashion. When everybody was working from home and then it was time to go back into a shared workspace, I think people were like, "I'll come back to the office but I'm not wearing that sh*t anymore. I want my comfy clothes all the time." I've noticed.
Angela [00:27:27] Yeah, so now it's flipped. It's like you're casual all week and then if you want, for fun, some people dress up on Fridays.
Jenna [00:27:34] I wonder how long that's going to last. I feel like as newer generations who didn't experience the pandemic start going into the workplace, I wonder if it will become the way it was. If you'll have this fancier business attire again.
Angela [00:27:52] Yeah, I don't know. Okay and then two more things that I thought were interesting is one person said that they worked at an engineering firm in Texas and they did a (completely optional but it was really fun) Western Wednesday and you could wear cowboy shirts boots cowboy hats and I thought that was kind of fun. Like, I wonder if there are regional dress-up days at different offices. Lastly, a bunch of folks shared that Friday is a work from home day and most of their colleagues aren't even in the office. I thought, "Oh man, Michael would have hated that."
Jenna [00:28:28] That's the most casual version of a Friday.
Angela [00:28:32] It is. So there you go. Those are some Casual Friday trends happening now.
Jenna [00:28:36] Thank you, Angela. Well, I want to share a new scene that was added back to the Super Fan version. It happens at the Jim/Pam/Dwight desk clump. Jim has a gift for Pam. He's welcoming her back. She opens it, and it looks homemade. It's this little island, and there are little dolls. There's a doll representing her, one representing Jim, one representing Dwight. Why don't we listen?
clip from The Office - Jim [00:29:05] Alright, you ready Dwight?
clip from The Office - Dwight [00:29:07] Ready for what?
clip from The Office - Pam [00:29:10] What's this?
clip from The Office - Jim [00:29:12] It's a little gift.
clip from The Office - Pam [00:29:15] "On behalf of Desk Area Clump Number 1, we welcome you to our little island. Love, Jim and Dwight."
clip from The Office - Dwight [00:29:21] Okay, whoa, whoa whoa, I had nothing to do with that, okay? I miss the storage containers that used to occupy that spot.
clip from The Office - Pam [00:29:28] Thank you, Dwight.
clip from The Office - Dwight [00:29:29] And you obscure my view of the shredder.
clip from The Office - Jim [00:29:31] Okay, let's get back to the ceremony. Here we go.
clip from The Office - Pam [00:29:33] Oh, I love it! That is so cute. It's us and Dwight.
clip from The Office - Dwight [00:29:39] I'm supposed to be fishing? Pfft, barbaric.
clip from The Office - Pam [00:29:42] You're a train conductor?
clip from The Office - Jim [00:29:43] Yeah, that's my job on the island.
clip from The Office - Pam [00:29:45] And I'm a giant Amazon woman.
clip from The Office - Jim [00:29:46] We need an attraction to raise money to get the train to the island, it's a plus.
clip from The Office - Dwight [00:29:50] [scoffs] That island is completely implausible.
clip from The Office - Pam [00:29:51] I love it.
Jenna [00:29:56] So there you have it. I guess Jim made her... When did he make it? How did he make it without her seeing it?
Angela [00:30:03] Where does Jim do any of it? Where do his pranks happen? All of it. I do love, though, that Dwight finds the size of the island disproportionate. This is a guy that loves bobbleheads. You know what I mean?
Jenna [00:30:16] Yeah.
Angela [00:30:17] Well, don't you wish you still had that prop? Oh, I would love to have that on my desk right now!
Angela [00:30:22] I know. Well, thanks to Michael B, again, from Lebanon, Pennsylvania. We have this little piece of information about that gift from Jim. Michael says that according to the Dunder Mifflin accounting actuals that he has (from the Phil Shea prop papers) that island and figurines cost $2,840.50 and was made by MovieArt.
Jenna [00:30:44] What?! Did you see it?
Angela [00:30:47] Wait, are you saying you don't think the little island looks like it cost $2800?
Jenna [00:30:54] In no way does it look like it costs $2800. I feel like I could make that in an afternoon with stuff I found in my house. I mean, that's the point of it. It's supposed to look like that.
Angela [00:31:07] Right. It is. It is, but yeah, that was an expensive prop.
Jenna [00:31:12] And then it got cut out.
Angela [00:31:14] I know. Dang it. I wonder who has it?
Jenna [00:31:16] I don't know. Well, next up is the scene in the kitchen where Pam and Phyllis are gonna discover that they are wearing the same outfit.
Angela [00:31:25] Before we dive into that scene, I needed to address something, OK? So in our original breakdown of this episode, I did a mini deep dive on the local department store that Pam says she went to in the Steamtown mall to get her outfit. I pronounced it "Bosscoves," and guess what, lady? That is not how you say it. We got a little fan mail flurry about it. By the way, everyone that wrote in, you guys were really kind with me, so thank you. But I did feel the need to say it properly for you all. So I'm just gonna let the CEO of the company do it so I don't mess it up. Here's a little snippet of him talking about his store.
Jim Boscov [00:32:06] So what the heck is a Boscovs anyway? Well, we're the largest family-owned department store with 50 stores in this part of the country. Monroe County, you're gonna be number 51. I can't wait to meet you. Come on in, let me show you what a Boscovs is all about.
Angela [00:32:23] Boscovs. That was Jim Boscov. Jim, I'm really sorry I got your store name wrong. The store looks awesome. I mean, that video, I was like, "Wow, this store has everything."
Jenna [00:32:33] You know what I found out? It almost wasn't Boscov's. In the table draft of this episode, Pam says they got their outfits at "Express for Women" at the Steamtown Mall.
Angela [00:32:44] Oh, well I'm glad they went with the local store, aren't you?
Jenna [00:32:47] Yeah, that was a good rewrite.
Angela [00:32:49] Alright, so now Phyllis has her famous line, "'Close your mouth, sweetie, you look like a trout.'" I remember Phyllis told us that that is one of the lines people quote to her most often from the show.
Jenna [00:33:00] Yes, and I've said that it was very hard not to laugh in this moment, because just any time that sweet sweet Phyllis has to say something really biting, it is so funny. I also wanted to point out that in the Super Fan episode, there is a new top and bottom to the scene that has an extra little joke. At the top of the scene, Pam is alone in the kitchen making her tea, and Creed walks in the door just as the microwave is beeping. He opens it, he takes out a burrito, and then he walks into the annex. Then there's the scene with Pam and Phyllis noticing that they have the same outfit on. After the scene is over and Phyllis has said her famous line, Erin walks into kitchen, checks the microwave, and she's really confused, and she turns to Pam and she says, "'Did you see me put a burrito in there?' Cause her burrito is missing and I just think it's such a great example of the kind of things that we had to lose in order to make the broadcast version of these episodes fit for time. These superfan episodes, you're able to fill out the world with mundane office life like this, like getting your burrito stolen out of the microwave. For the most part, the extra stuff in the superfan of Casual Friday are just those little scene extensions, and they're really fun.
Angela [00:34:18] I just love it. I love that burrito moment made it back in and Dave Rogers, thank you.
Jenna [00:34:26] Well, listen, next up, Dwight is going to gather everyone down in the warehouse to make his case. Remember, he's written a memo to the sales staff in Invisible Ink that is actually urine. They are mad because Michael has come back and he has made Pam and Ryan salespeople. They're not giving back the clients that they stole when they left to make Michael Scott Paper Company. So everyone's really mad. So Dwight calls this meeting. He is down there with Phyllis, Stanley, and Andy. This is extended in the superfan version. Dwight is explaining that failure is not an option. Have a listen.
clip from The Office - Dwight [00:35:10] And if we do nothing, we fail, and failure is not an option.
clip from The Office - Andy [00:35:13] Well, to be clear, it is an option?
clip from The Office - Dwight [00:35:15] Not in my book. In my book the cover is, "Failure is Not an Option."
clip from The Office - Andy [00:35:19] It is an option.
clip from The Office - Dwight [00:35:20] Not in my book. Literally.
clip from The Office - Stanley [00:35:22] What book? What are you?
clip from The Office - Phyllis [00:35:23] Did you write it?
Jenna [00:35:26] Yeah, failure is not an option.
Angela [00:35:28] Very serious.
Jenna [00:35:30] I got curious about the phrase "failure is not an option." I was like, "Where did that come from?"
Angela [00:35:36] What did you find?
Jenna [00:35:38] I was completely surprised by the answer. Where do you guys think it came from? Matt, Angela, if you had to guess the phrase. Unless you know, maybe you know it.
Angela [00:35:48] Sounds like a military term.
Matt [00:35:50] That's what I was gonna say.
Jenna [00:35:51] Right, I was like, "Oh, this is Winston Churchill." No, it came from the movie "Apollo 13."
Angela [00:35:58] Not the actual mission?
Jenna [00:36:00] Correct.
Angela [00:36:01] By the astronauts?
Jenna [00:36:02] Correct. So sort of. I mean, influenced by. So according to Wikipedia, in preparation for the movie, the script writers Al Reinert and Bill Broyles, they interviewed flight controller Jerry Bostic. They wanted to get some intel on what is mission control really like. One of the questions they asked him was, "Weren't there times when everybody or even just a few people were completely panicked?" And Jerry said, "No, when bad things happened, we just calmly laid out all the options and failure was not one of them." That was what he said to them. And then this guy Jerry said months later that he learned that when the writers got in their car to leave, the writers said, "That's it. That's the tagline for this whole movie. Failure is not an option." And then they gave that line to Ed Harris, who played Mission Control Officer Gene Kranz, and then later Gene Kranz wrote a memoir titled, "Failure is Not an Option."
Angela [00:37:10] This is life imitating art, art imitating life.
Matt [00:37:13] So before 1995, were people not really saying "failure is not an option?"
Jenna [00:37:16] That, I mean, I really deep dived it.
Matt [00:37:20] I don't recall saying it before then.
Jenna [00:37:21] Right? Isn't that crazy? That's what surprised me. Cause I felt like, "That's as old as it is? That's as far back in history as that phrase goes?" But what was also crazy is that Gene Kranz never said it. He never actually said that phrase, but his character in the movie said it. But that was the overall vibe of mission control.
Angela [00:37:44] I mean, it's good. It's concise. You get it. Failure's not an option. Period.
Matt [00:37:50] Yeah, it's very direct. What a star-studded cast, by the way.
Jenna [00:37:53] Oh, if you haven't watched Apollo 13 in a while, I'd like to say that the movie holds up. I watched it recently.
Matt [00:37:59] Yeah, it's been a while.
Jenna [00:38:00] It's great.
Angela [00:38:01] Alright, well listen, back to this scene, I do want to bring up one other thing. Jim is going to tell Pam, Michael, and Ryan that, "There may or may not be, but definitely is, a mutiny forming in the warehouse right now." I have some Candy Bag alts for you, lady. Michael is ticked off, and he has this talking head. I want to play what made it in the episode, and then I'm going to read some alts.
Jenna [00:38:25] OK, great.
clip from The Office - Michael [00:38:27] The old Michael Scott might have taken this, but not the new Michael Scott. They are in for a bitter surprise. I am not to be truffled with.
Angela [00:38:37] He's not to be truffled with, OK?
Jenna [00:38:39] No, don't truffle with him.
Angela [00:38:41] Don't truffle with him, don't even go near his trials and tribianis, OK?
Jenna [00:38:45] That's right.
Angela [00:38:47] But here were some Candy Bag alts for that particular talking head. Michael would have said, "In my house, in my house? In my house?! In my house!" He just would have said that over and over. Here's another one. "When you owe me an apology and instead give me mutiny, you are asking for a smackdown. [beeping sounds] What's that? Smackdown truck backing up. We've got a shipment of Smackdown. Where would you like it? Right here. You need to sign for it. Gladly."
Jenna [00:39:20] Oh, those are some of my favorite Michael talking heads, and they're my favorite ones that Steve does because he nails that timing so great. Also, this is bringing up an aspect of this episode that I really, really liked, which is the whole thing for Michael in this episode is he's waiting all day for people to apologize to him. Like, his come from is that he is owed an apology and I love it so much. It's one of my favorite mini storylines within this episode.
Angela [00:39:52] I really wish we could have heard Steve say, "We've got a shipment of Smackdown."
Jenna [00:39:56] I know!
Angela [00:39:58] Alright, here's another one. Michael would have said, "Mutiny? Not on my ship, not while I'm captain. The only way they could get away with mutiny is if they took over or something, and that's not gonna happen."
Jenna [00:40:09] So good.
Angela [00:40:10] I love it.
Jenna [00:40:12] Well, Michael eventually brings Dwight, Andy, Phyllis, and Stanley down to the warehouse and he's going to apologize. He is going to say that he has realized that he was the problem. He has this talking head where he says that he is looked at the situation 100 different ways and in every one of them he is in the wrong. It's so funny. There was a different talking head in the table draft. He is still going to realize that he needs to apologize, but instead... It would have gone like this. He was gonna say, "When I was four, a girl in my nursery school was crying and crying and I was irritated because she had the best block, the block with wheels. So that's all I could focus on. And then later when we were eating cookies, I realized she was crying because I bit her. Today, I realized that I bit Stanley and I bit Phyllis and I bit Andy and I spit on Dwight."
Angela [00:41:10] [laughing] It's so ridiculous.
Jenna [00:41:11] So ridiculous. But listen, finally, in our revisiting of Casual Friday, there's another storyline in this episode and it is that Michael has to decide between Ryan and Pam for a single sales job. He's gonna have to make one of them a salesperson and then one of them, I don't know what they're gonna be, right? The episode ends with one of Michael's famous fake firing scenes. I love these scenes. He ultimately gives the sales job to Pam. Well, there was an alternate ending to this episode that was in the table draft and it hints at something. This got cut out, but they clearly liked this idea and they saved it because in the table draft, he gives the sales job to Ryan.
Angela [00:41:58] Ooh.
Jenna [00:41:59] So in the actual episode, he give it to Pam, right? But in the alternate ending, he gave the sales job to Ryan and he makes Pam the office manager. Which, by the way, when you get into what this job is, it's basically office administrator. Which is the job that Pam is later going to make up for herself when she leaves sales. But he makes her "office manager" and tells her that her first responsibility is to enforce the dress code. So basically her job is gonna be every job Michael doesn't wanna do.
Angela [00:42:36] Oh my gosh, that's perfect.
Jenna [00:42:38] And she has to start with Meredith and there's this whole scene that was a tag at the end of the episode of Pam trying to explain to Meredith why her outfit is inappropriate.
Angela [00:42:48] And as Meredith, just like, "Go F yourself?"
Jenna [00:42:51] Pretty much. Yeah.
Angela [00:42:52] That's kind of evil genius of Michael, though, is to make Pam always the fall guy. Like, always taking the heat.
Jenna [00:43:01] Yes.
Angela [00:43:01] I just loved this, lady. I loved revisiting this episode. I loved re-watching it. I've been re- watching episodes now more and more, and they make me happy.
Jenna [00:43:11] Me too.
Angela [00:43:12] So thank you so much for writing in with your suggestions and questions about specific episodes and Super Fan versions. They're making us dig back in, and it's really fun.
Jenna [00:43:22] Well listen, why don't we take a break, and then we'll be back with our Around the Town and our Office question of the week.
audio cue [00:43:27] [musical sting]
Angela [00:43:31] Well, we are back, and it's time for
audio cue [00:43:35] [musical sting for Around the Town plays]
Angela [00:43:35] I'm going to start us off with some Snail Mill from Danny G. We got a lovely card from Danny, and she shared that the front of it was painted by her grandma. Look at that, Jenna. Isn't that gorgeous?
Jenna [00:43:48] Oh, it's a turkey. It's really detailed.
Angela [00:43:50] It's a very detailed, beautiful painting of a turkey, I'm to put that in our stories, Danny. Danny went on to say many wonderful things about her love of the podcast, But I had to share this fun The Office crossover. Danny said, "My aunt is a prolific stunt woman, a regular double on 'Charmed,' tons of hit movies, et cetera. So you can imagine my utter shock when I was nonchalantly listening to episode 189, 'Free Family Portrait,' and heard you throw out her name, Nancy Thurston. She is very humble about her work, so I didn't know, and I called her immediately."
Jenna [00:44:27] Wow.
Angela [00:44:28] Isn't that so great?
Jenna [00:44:29] Yes.
Angela [00:44:31] So Danny's aunt was on our show as a stunt woman. And I just thought that was so fun that she learned that tidbit from listening to Office Ladies. Danny went on to say that if we want to go to a train museum, we shouldn't miss the one in San Diego that does the Polar Express in the winter. She also added, "PS, I've started saying 'Chunk It,' and PPS. Toby is totally the Scranton Strangler!" Thank you, Danny.
Jenna [00:44:59] Amazing. Well, we also got a letter from Samantha S. in St. Charles, Missouri. Hello St.Charles, Missouri, I've been there many times. Samantha said, "Evelyn Clark, known as the 'I-70 Fence Lady,' has delighted highway drivers for years with the messages she would put on her fence using colorful cups. From happy birthdays, to congrats grads, and happy holidays, Evelyne has shouted out to so many people over the years. And although Evelyn has now moved from that home, every St. Charles resident knows exactly which patch of fence would be wishing them well on their travels." Aw. I freaking love people who bring joy to their communities like this.
Angela [00:45:44] Me too.
Jenna [00:45:45] It is a treasure. You are a treasure.
Angela [00:45:48] And you just don't even realize how many people's lives you impact. All those people, it becomes part of their travel lore. They drive by, they want to see what the sign is. It's just special. It is.
Jenna [00:46:02] There was this house that was in the section of Manchester, Missouri, where I lived, which is a suburb of St. Louis. These folks painted their house bright purple. I swear, I think I've even talked about this on the podcast before. But it was the Purple House, and we loved their Purple House. Everyone knew the Purple house. You could give directions. You could be like, "Oh, you know the Dairy Queen by the Purplehouse?" "Yes, of course, I know exactly where I am right now." I like it when people get a little quirky in their communities.
Angela [00:46:34] I do too. There was this house that went all out for Easter. They decorated their yard with all of these giant bunnies. I don't even know where they got them because they were made out of wood and hand painted. It looked like they made them and then they had some kind of oversized Easter eggs and we as kids would get so excited to drive by the bunny house at Easter and see the big bunnies.
Jenna [00:46:58] We've got a guy in our neighborhood now who does blow ups at the holidays.
Angela [00:47:02] Oh, I know it. I know the house.
Jenna [00:47:03] You know it?
Angela [00:47:04] Yeah.
Jenna [00:47:05] Every year, they add a new one. Every year you're like, "What have we added this year?" They have some that are taller than their house. But I don't even know where they're going to put more. They are out of room.
Angela [00:47:16] It is stacked. But it's so fun to drive by.
Jenna [00:47:19] It's so fun to drive by, and you know, my kids will always remember that. That's going to be a core memory for them.
Angela [00:47:26] Absolutely.
Jenna [00:47:27] And when they have kids, they're going to be excited to bring them over here for Christmas because they're gonna get to drive by the house with all the blowups.
Angela [00:47:36] Mhm. Well, listen, folks, we've got one last around the town for you. It's from Paige R. and Bethany Z. who both wrote in with this important update from Richmond, Virginia.
Jenna [00:47:45] Ooh.
Angela [00:47:47] "There's an update on the Big Dill Dog." Remember we talked about that Big Dill Dog, lady?
Jenna [00:47:52] Yeah, I remember.
Angela [00:47:53] Well, the Richmond Flying Squirrels were so psyched about the shoutout on the podcast that they put out a poll to the community asking if they should bring back the Big Dill Dog. Richmond voted and the Squirrels just announced the return of the Big Dill Dog to their menu. Thank you both for helping us bring back one of Richmond's iconic ballpark snacks."
Jenna [00:48:13] Hey!
Angela [00:48:14] How about that?
Jenna [00:48:15] Well, now I feel like we have to go.
Angela [00:48:18] We have to go.
Jenna [00:48:19] And we have eat this Big Dill Dog.
Angela [00:48:22] I know. And we might tell Freya it's one of our new favorite lunches.
Jenna [00:48:28] [laughing] We might. Alright. Well, finally, our Office question of the week is from Miha W. in Poland who said, "There is an official Lego set depicting The Office. Do you own one? And what is it like to be a mini figure?" I have one.
Angela [00:48:43] I have one as well. Jenna, you got it first, so you should share.
Jenna [00:48:47] I asked for it for Christmas. Like, I got it for Christmases from Lee because I was so excited. What is it to be like a mini figure? I mean, my gosh. We've gone to Legoland multiple times. We love Lego. So this was thrilling. I mean, how many Lego have I put together? How many organizational systems have I created in my home for stray Lego? How many Lego's have I stepped on? So many.
Angela [00:49:15] So many.
Jenna [00:49:16] I mean, right?
Angela [00:49:17] You have kids. You have Legos, period. I mean how many ships have we put together? Oh my goodness, so many boats and planes. Kate and Josh did the Lego that's the whole entire globe, you know?
Jenna [00:49:32] Oh, yeah.
Angela [00:49:33] That is tons of pieces. And we have little tiny organized drawers of different parts. And anyway. Legos are a huge part of our lives. We were all thrilled as cast mates from The Office. We all talked about it. I think it was on our little text thread. I mean, this was a super cool moment.
Jenna [00:49:52] I loved putting it together. The detail is really great and it just took me back. I mean there's a Michael's office and then there's the whole bullpen and it was so fun because you don't put all the mini figures together. They're in different bags. So you'll open a new bag and there's two new little people in there, which is very fun. I loved it. It was great.
Angela [00:50:17] Well, I didn't have one lady, but I was at the Office fan convention and I got to meet Jai Jai Lewis and you guys at the convention and our Office fans, you will know that he was a fan creator who originally pitched and designed this Office Lego set.
Jenna [00:50:33] Yes, this is a thing. They have a thing called, like, "Lego Ideas" and you can submit stuff. This is how the "Friends" Lego set came about as well.
Angela [00:50:42] Yeah, there's an interview with Jai Jai on the actual Lego website. I will put a link to it and it talks about where he's from and there's a picture of him and he sort of talks about his journey designing this and I got to meet him and he gave me a box and he signed it. So I didn't open it because I was so thrilled to have this from him. It says that the official set was brought to life by Lego designers, Chris Perrin and Laura Perrin and senior graphic designer, Diego Sancho. So I wanna give them a shout out as well. But what a wonderful collaboration that started with Jai Jai Lewis's vision.
Jenna [00:51:22] Ah, that's super cool.
Angela [00:51:25] Yeah.
Jenna [00:51:26] Well, listen, everyone, we hope you enjoyed this episode. Thank you for joining us. We love this community. It means so much that you show up each week to listen to us chit chat and share our Office memories.
Angela [00:51:39] Yeah. Thank you guys so much. We love chatting with you. Please write us. I'll put links in our stories to everything and we hope you have a great day.
Jenna [00:51:45] Bye!
Jenna [00:00:17] Thank you for listening to Office Ladies.
Angela [00:00:19] Office Ladies is a presentation of Audacy and is produced by Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey.
Jenna [00:00:24] Our senior producer is Matt Beagle. Our audio engineer is Sam Kieffer, and our associate producer is Aynsley Bubbico.
Angela [00:00:32] Audacy's executive producer is Leah Reis-Dennis.
Jenna [00:00:35] Office Ladies was mixed and mastered by Bill Schultz.
Angela [00:00:37] Our theme song is "Rubber Tree" by Creed Bratton.