TRANSCRIPT
Office Ladies | Episode 318 - The Party Planning Committee
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 [00:00:00] [musical sting]
Jenna [00:00:01] Hi there.
Angela [00:00:01] Hey there.
Jenna [00:00:03] So you know, Sam is not with us today. We have Jordan with us in studio.
Angela [00:00:06] Hi Jordan.
Jordan [00:00:07] Hi everyone.
Jenna [00:00:08] But I have to say, as I pulled my car into the parking garage today and I pulled into my parking spot, my song that I was listening to finished at the exact moment I needed to turn off my car and I thought of Sam.
Angela [00:00:22] Sam would have loved that.
Jenna [00:00:23] Cause that's his happy place. I will always think of Sam now, when that happens.
Angela [00:00:27] Same. Interestingly enough, I had a parking garage story, ladies, as I pulled in. I'm short, okay? I'm a short person. I can never reach the button that spits out the parking garage ticket.
Jenna [00:00:40] Well, don't get me started on our parking garage, because it is too low for anyone.
Angela [00:00:45] Okay, thank you. I always have to put my window down and then I have to open my door and then have to hang out.
Jenna [00:00:50] Take off my seatbelt, hang half out the window.
Angela [00:00:53] Hit the button to get the thingy,
Jenna [00:00:55] Every time.
Angela [00:00:56] Well, this morning, there was a lady in the kiosk (that's normally not there) when you pull in. She looks over her shoulder at me, and I swear she rolled her eyes.
Jenna [00:01:05] No.
Angela [00:01:06] When I was hanging out and hitting the button, she looked over with this expression, like, "What is she doing?" And I'm like, "What am I doing?!" This thing is impossible to reach.
Jenna [00:01:16] Dare I say, everyone needs to do this in this parking garage. Jordan, do you park in this parking garage? Do you also have to hang halfway out the window to get your tickets?
Jordan [00:01:24] Yes, 100%. I park in that garage and I'm halfway out the window. Yeah.
Angela [00:01:29] I feel so much better.
Jenna [00:01:30] Yeah, it's not about being short, Angela. It's the way they have the machine. There's a ramp and then the machine is very, very low. It drives me crazy.
Angela [00:01:39] Well, this lady looked at me today like I was an idiot.
Jenna [00:01:45] Well, yeah, okay. I'd like to see her drive in and get the ticket.
Angela [00:01:46] Yeah, I want to see her get that ticket, dang it. Okay, sorry. We have a really fun episode today. By the way, this subject probably could come up in this committee. This committee might have ideas about everything, is all I'm saying.
Jenna [00:01:59] Well, this committee is very opinionated. Let's tell everyone what we're doing. We are gonna dig into the Party Planning Committee on The Office. And, as Pam would say: "At its worst, it was a toxic political club used to make others feel miserable and left out. At its best, it planned parties."
Angela [00:02:22] I mean, she's not wrong.
Jenna [00:02:24] She is not.
Angela [00:02:24] Pam kind of hit it on the nose there. You guys, Jenna and I had so much fun this past week. I wish we could share all the messages we did back and forth, because we have done a huge deep dive into all things "Party Planning Committee" and we're gonna break it all down for you and it was an absolute pleasure.
Jenna [00:02:43] We have some really fun new tidbits.
Angela [00:02:45] But first... Let's get to our chit chat of the week.
Jenna [00:02:49] Yeah, so that quote that we played was from Pam from "Classy Christmas." And speaking of Classy, Christmas, we got this letter from Stephen L. in Massachusetts. Stephen said, "Years ago, my brother hosted a Classy Christmas party instead of an Ugly Sweater party because he wanted people to look fashionable. So my then girlfriend, now wife, dressed up to the nines. She was in a former prom dress and I was in full suit. My brother invited all his friends and other family, a ton of RSVPs came in, but in the end only two people showed up and it was the most uncomfortable party ever. Neither me, or my wife, knew the other people and my brother only knew them from friends of friends. We ended up trying to play various card games and board games that we knew very little about how to play, which made everything so much more awkward. It was the most uncomfortable party ever." Just being all dressed up with complete strangers.
Angela [00:03:51] That is miserable.
Jenna [00:03:53] So we thought, in honor of the Party Planning Committee, it might be fun to share our stories of parties gone wrong.
Angela [00:04:01] I can't wait for this. So Matt, Jordan, we reached out to you guys. We're all gonna share one. Who wants to go first?
Jordan [00:04:09] I'll go first.
Angela [00:04:10] Great.
Jordan [00:04:11] So mine is more of a cute fail. It was between my senior year and starting freshman year of college. I was asked to go to a party with one of my girlfriends. I didn't know anyone at the party. Met a bunch of people, and I met this guy named Mike. Mike was really handsome, and he was really cute. He was, like, 6'4", something like that. Great, great guy. I'm like, "Oh my god, I have a huge crush on this guy." Well, had to leave the party. Got invited to go to the same party, at the same location. I wasn't going with anyone. So I asked one of my girlfriends, Megan, to come with me. She was like, "I don't wanna go to this party. I don't know anyone." I was like, "I don't know anyone either, but there's this really cute guy, and I would love to see if he's there." And she was like, "Fine, I'll go with you, whatever." So I get to the party, and there's a huge bonfire, 20 feet in the air.
Angela [00:05:03] Oh my goodness.
Jordan [00:05:04] And so I stand at the fire, and I'm like, "Megan, meet Mike. Mike, meet Megan." I've never felt in a moment, immediate fireworks and as if souls reconnected. But in the back of my mind, I was like, "No!" I was, like "No, no!" So it was a fail on my part for bringing her there, but it was a win in love because they're now married with kids, and I introduced them.
Jenna [00:05:31] Oh my gosh. And she wasn't even going to go.
Jordan [00:05:37] She wasn't going to even go. So yeah.
Angela [00:05:37] Wow. Were you part of the wedding in any way? I was at the wedding. I got a special shout out. To this day, that neither of them know that I had a crush on him.
Angela [00:05:47] Oh, do they listen to Office Ladies?
Jordan [00:05:51] They might. The'll know now. But it's so long ago that it's fine, and I'm very happy for them.
Angela [00:05:57] Alright, Matt Beagle, do you have one?
Matt [00:05:59] I do. This is actually one of the most painful stories from my life. So I was at one of my best friends' wedding with my other friends from high school. It was in this old school tiki lounge. It's from the 60's or something. You guys would love it. There's a lagoon inside. Everything is tiki. There's band playing that floats out on a lily pad onto the lagoon.
Angela [00:06:22] Oh my goodness.
Matt [00:06:23] There was Mai Tais flowing. The vibes were very high. Something about me at weddings and dance parties, I like to take things to the next level. I'm usually the one to start an electric slide or a conga line.
Angela [00:06:35] Are you serious?
Matt [00:06:36] Yeah.
Jenna [00:06:36] Wow.
Angela [00:06:38] We only know Matt Beagle in conference room Zoom edit sessions, so to picture you busting out the electric slide.
Matt [00:06:45] I love it. So the band starts playing "Africa" by Toto. I get this idea in my head that people are going through the buffet line; getting their plates. No one is dancing at this point but I was like, "I am going to prance and do these running jump dances down the buffet line as the band launches into the chorus of Africa," and It was just not a good idea. It's not dancing time. People were not dancing.
Angela [00:07:12] [laughing] People are getting their food.
Matt [00:07:13] As the chorus starts, I start doing these leaps down the line. I see a really good friend coming with his plate of food and I'm like, "Oh, I'm gonna dodge him." I miscalculate and I tip his plate up and it goes up and the food falls all over him. He's in his wedding vest, kind of dressed to the nines. This is someone who kind of cares a lot about their outfit and stuff. He was so mad and this is a good friend. I have to say our relationship hasn't been the same since.
Angela [00:07:45] [gasps] Oh no, Matt.
Jenna [00:07:47] This is like something out of a rom-com.
Matt [00:07:50] It's honestly a very painful story and we've never addressed it. So maybe this is a sign that we need to.
Angela [00:07:57] How many years ago was that?
Matt [00:07:59] It's been, like, five years plus.
Angela [00:08:00] Maybe this is the time you're like, "Look, I know we're coming up on a decade anniversary when I colossally sh*t the bed and tossed food all over you. And I just want to make a stand and say, 'I'm so sorry.'" I hope it hasn't changed you wanting to elevate the dance floor.
Matt [00:08:17] You know what? It hasn't.
Angela [00:08:19] Oh, good, good.
Jenna [00:08:20] Yes, don't let anyone dim that light.
Matt [00:08:23] Thank you, Jenna.
Angela [00:08:24] Yes. Just don't dance by the food. That's it.
Matt [00:08:27] Not a good idea, not a good call there.
Angela [00:08:29] Okay, I have one. So I'm in Los Angeles in my early 20's. I'm doing a lot of improv. I'm improv-ing it up all the time. I'm on multiple shows, so I have this big group of improv pals. We started taking turns just kind of hosting get togethers. I lived in this tiny little apartment and then I finally got a scooch bigger of a place. So I'm like, "It's my turn to host," and I'm really excited. One of the guys in our group had a new girlfriend. Everyone else is a bunch of improvisers. We all know each other. So you know what that means. We're just doing bits all the time.
Jenna [00:09:01] Yeah.
Angela [00:09:01] We're so annoying to be around. Really, it's kind of like your dance card is full. When someone's like, "Can I bring a random person?" Everyone's like [makes unsure noise]. You know? Because you just want to get together and do bits. So one of the guys in our group is like, "Hey, I've started dating this girl. Can I bring her?" None of us know her. I kind of put it out to the group. I'm like, "Hey, so-and-so wants to bring this girl he's dating," and everyone's like, "Ugh, bummer." So already, it's stacked against her. So I am gonna do my best to make her feel welcome because this gonna be a tough group to come into.
Jenna [00:09:35] Mhm.
Angela [00:09:35] I lived in a neighborhood where I had to run parking passes out to people, you know? So I was like, "Guys, he's here. Everyone be nice, okay? Come on." So I walk in with them, she looks around my little apartment. She goes. "Oh, it's so cozy. It's like a grandma's house." First thing she says. You could feel the room be like, [noise of disapproval]. I was like, "Oh, thanks." And she goes, "There's just so many little things everywhere." I'm like, "Oh my God. Oh my god."
Jenna [00:10:08] [laughing]
Angela [00:10:08] She then spent the rest of the night one by one insulting everybody. And I'm, like, "Does she know she's insulting people?" One of my friends travels a ton. It's part of their job. They've been all over the world. Even at that time, they were already doing this job. She says to him, "Well, you probably can't relate to my stories because I travel so much." He'd just been talking about a work trip. She was like, "In fact, I'm probably more traveled than most of you here." And we were like, "Oh my God, she is the worst." She went around saying, just sh*t things about everybody. We looked to our friend like, "You're seeing this right?" Completely couldn't see anything. Was just so enamored with her. I'm like, "She called my house Grandma House."
Jenna [00:10:55] I don't know what to tell you Angela, but this a little bit sounds like a party gone right. I love a crazy curve ball guest at a party. Like, tell me you guys have not bonded over this. Right?
Angela [00:11:08] Oh for years, my friends in this group will say, "Oh, we're going to grandma's house." Like, my house is grandma's house.
Jenna [00:11:17] Yeah, I sort of love it.
Angela [00:11:20] So that was the odd party guest that just insulted everybody.
Jenna [00:11:25] Well, Lady, I will get to my story about my party gone wrong, which I'm pretty sure I've told on this podcast before. But let me just tell you, the reason we are best friends is because after I got divorced and I got my first place all on my own, this little bungalow in Los Angeles that was so cute. I decorated it all myself with all my things.
Angela [00:11:50] Aw.
Jenna [00:11:51] I had my plates on the wall, all my tchotchkes. It was wonderful. I had a friend come over and I showed them the place and they said, "Oh, did it come furnished?"
Angela [00:12:03] [laughing] No.
Jenna [00:12:05] And I said, "No. These are my things," and they're like, "Oh, it's just very grandma."
Angela [00:12:12] This is why we're best friends.
Jenna [00:12:13] This is why we're best friends.
Angela [00:12:13] Our grandma houses.
Jenna [00:12:15] Alright, here's my story and it's gonna bring us back to the Party Planning Committee. I know I've told this story in the early days of our podcast. But when I was a temp at an office, someone came around to all the little cubicles. I was doing data entry for a medical company. Inputting, I don't know, just alpha numeric codes into a spreadsheet all day long.
Angela [00:12:40] Very accurately and quickly, I've seen you type.
Jenna [00:12:43] Thank you. Someone came around to all the cubicles and said, "We're meeting for Marcy's birthday. Everyone come to the break room at two o'clock." Went to the brake room. It was right out of an episode of The Office. There was a sheet cake. There were two sad balloons. There was card. We sang happy birthday. They started cutting up the cake, handing it out to people. When I went up, the head of the Party Planning Committee took the plate out of my hands (with the cake on it) and said, "It's for permanent employees only."
Matt [00:13:17] Ugh, rude.
Angela [00:13:17] Temps don't get cake.
Jenna [00:13:21] Temps don't get cake! I was like, "Don't invite me then." She said, "You know, we all put in money for this." I was, like, "I'm happy to contribute. I just wasn't here last week to give the $5."
Angela [00:13:34] You knew Angela Martin before you came to The Office.
Jenna [00:13:36] I did. I was like, "It was so important?" By the way, there was plenty of sheet cake.
Angela [00:13:41] Oh, I'm sure.
Jenna [00:13:41] Marcy was taking home half a cake at the end of this party. So yeah, that's my party gone wrong story.
Angela [00:13:49] Okay, those were really great. I love this question, Stephen, and it's the perfect kickoff to the Party Planning Committee breakdown.
Jenna [00:13:56] So we're gonna take a break and we will be right back.
audio cue [00:14:03] [musical sting]
Jenna [00:14:03] Alright, we are back and I think we should start with some Party Planning Committee stats.
Angela [00:14:08] You love a stat.
Jenna [00:14:09] We both love stats now, admit it, you love a stat.
Angela [00:14:13] I do. Jordan, I do. She's worn me down over the years, and now I'm a stat person.
Jordan [00:14:18] Stats are fun.
Angela [00:14:20] Stats are kind of hot.
Jenna [00:14:21] I can't tell if you guys are doing a bit or if you really love stats.
Jordan [00:14:25] Some would say stats are sexy.
Angela [00:14:27] Oh, sexy stats.
Jenna [00:14:30] You tell me. Are these sexy? The original members of the Party Planning Committee were Angela, Phyllis, and Pam as we meet them in our documentary of this time of Dunder Mifflin. The Party Planning Committee always had members but also seem to always have a leader. The leaders of the Party Planning Committee are as follows. Angela Martin: seasons one through four. Very clear, she was leading these meetings.
Angela [00:15:02] Mm-hmm.
Jenna [00:15:04] "Head of the Party Planning Committee," she declares. But then season four: "Goodbye Toby," to season five: "Baby Shower," and "Moroccan Christmas," Phyllis Vance: head of the Party Planning Committee. Then in season five and season six, Jim and Dwight are the head of the Part Planning Committee.
Angela [00:15:26] Hot mess.
Jenna [00:15:27] Yes. Then we go back to Angela Martin again, then Pam, and then question mark?
Angela [00:15:35] Yeah.
Jenna [00:15:36] We did a little Mom Detective thing. We'll get to it. Then there were additional members, from time to time. We had Ryan, we had Meredith, and we had Oscar.
Angela [00:15:48] I would also add maybe Karen. Okay, yes, she is kicked out of the PPC by Angela Martin, but then she does help create the Committee to Plan Parties.
Jenna [00:15:55] Well, she's definitely in the Committee to Plan Parties.
Angela [00:15:56] Then I think we have to note the one time Jim did some solo party planning in the episode" Survivorman," when he tries to consolidate all the birthday parties into one.
Jenna [00:16:06] Oh yeah.
Angela [00:16:08] Yeah, disaster. And then some fans have pointed out that Daryl and Dwight were the people Michael went to help plan his roast and in "Stress Relief."
Jenna [00:16:16] Yeah, II is not just the PPC that plans events at Dunder Mifflin, which we discovered in our deep dive. But listen, I think now we need to talk about what was the criteria to be a member of the Party Planning Committee. Angela, you said you dug into this.
Angela [00:16:33] I did, and it was an absolute wonderful adventure into Dunder Mifflin. Okay, so if you were selected to the PPC, there were many duties and skills that you would need. I made a list of a few.
Jenna [00:16:46] Okay.
Angela [00:16:47] Okay. Feel free to jump in at any point, you guys. Number one: you would have to attend countless conference room meetings to discuss themes and make extensive lists of supplies.
Jenna [00:16:59] Yes. I need to say one thing. When Angela was head of the Partying Planning Committee, I'm not sure you discussed the theme, I believe you were in formed of the theme.
Angela [00:17:08] This is true, and also the only one that usually was writing things down was Pam. As part of the committee, you would be responsible for not only planning the parties, but all the decorating. Here's an example of some of the types of parties you would have to help plan or decorate. An 80's party, a movie DVD release party, a 05-05-05 party, a tsunami fun-raiser party, co-worker birthdays. Holidays such as Christmas and Halloween, bridal showers, baby showers, inventory luau's, launch parties, retirement or going away parties, and welcome parties.
Jenna [00:17:47] Mm-hmm. That's a lot.
Angela [00:17:47] This is a big scope. You would also need to be good at coming up with fun new themes for parties that you've hosted every year. For example, a new spin on a holiday party like "Nights in Morocco" or "a Nutcracker Christmas." Then you would have to closely monitor the decorations and food to make sure everyone was staying on theme. There's a lot of policing involved in this committee. You would have also have to coordinate all the food, drinks, and desserts. You would need to curate the guest list. That could get dicey. From time to time, you might have to deal with a rival party planning committee. Things get very ugly. Lastly, you will have a very limited budget to try to accommodate ridiculous requests from your boss. According to the Dundies, Jan says they only have the budget for each branch to throw one party a year.
Jenna [00:18:36] Wow.
Angela [00:18:36] Wow.
Jenna [00:18:37] I know, how are we doing it?
Angela [00:18:38] I don't know.
Jenna [00:18:39] I found something that might shed some light on that.
Angela [00:18:42] Ooh, I can't wait to get to it. I do think we need to list all the crazy party request. But before we do, we got a question from Sasha P. in New Jersey. Sasha says, "Hi ladies, I loved your breakdown of "The Dundies," but I've always wondered about who planned the Dundies. There is a scene where Pam is watching old tapes of past Dundies, because Michael wants her to put together highlights. So do you think the Party Planning Committee also had to help plan the Dundies? Or were they a party that Michael hosted by himself? These are the questions I think about whenever I re-watch the show. Thanks for doing the podcast." Okay, what do you think?
Jenna [00:19:19] I do not think the Party Planning Committee helped throw the Dundies. The reason I say that is because when I watch the first Dundies, especially, it all seems like a surprise to them. It's not at work.
Angela [00:19:34] Right, it's outside of work. Michael has all of his costumes.
Jenna [00:19:38] Yes, and he has the keyboard that Dwight is playing. He has so many props. And I mean, it is interesting that Sasha says that he's making Pam do a highlight reel.
Angela [00:19:47] Yeah, I went back and I saw the scene she's talking about.
Jenna [00:19:50] But I feel like that might fall more under random stuff Michael asks Pam to do.
Angela [00:19:57] Exactly. I think Dwight is who helped Michael with the Dundies, and probably only Dwight.
Jenna [00:20:01] I think so too.
Angela [00:20:02] Because everyone else really didn't want to go to them.
Jenna [00:20:04] Right.
Angela [00:20:05] Alright. So this brings me to the absurd requests the PPC got from Michael Scott. Here are some of the most random items, according to me.
Jenna [00:20:15] [laughing] OK.
Angela [00:20:15] Other people might not think so. Trick candles, surprise stripper gram, fire crackers, a chihuahua, grass skirts, poi, tiki torches, suckling pig, fire dancers, co-ed naked strippers, orchids, a thing made of ice. Anti-gravity machine/potion, live storks, and honestly, the list goes on and on. If you go through all of this. But I do have a clip of what it would be like, as the head of the Party Planning Committee, jotting down what Michael Scott wants. Let's hear it.
clip from The Office - Michael Scott [00:20:48] How we doing on time?
clip from The Office - Angela [00:20:49] The party starts in an hour.
clip from The Office - Michael Scott [00:20:51] 60 minutes. 60 minutes, that's a lot of minutes. These are some things that I would like to have happen.
clip from The Office - Angela [00:20:57] "Beer, light beer, streamers, orchids... Better lighting? Something made of ice?"
clip from The Office - Michael Scott [00:21:01] Those are just things. This is how I want it to feel.
Angela [00:21:03] "Pizza, pizza with mushrooms, pizza without mushrooms, white pizza, steak."
clip from The Office - Michael Scott [00:21:06] I would like this party to be sexier, cooler, more important.
clip from The Office - Angela [00:21:12] "Chocolates, someone famous, cool music. Confetti? Go-go dancers?"
clip from The Office - Michael Scott [00:21:16] I want it to embarrass all other parties. I want to be a party that the guys in New York watch on the webcam and say, "Wow, how did they get Al Roker to come?"
audio cue [00:21:28] I can't do this.
clip from The Office - Michael Scott [00:21:29] Yes, you can.
clip from The Office - Angela [00:21:29] I can't do it.
clip from The Office - Michael Scott [00:21:30] Yes you, you can, I know you can't. I wouldn't say that if I didn't 100% believe it. Who else could do this?
clip from The Office - Angela [00:21:36] Okay, okay.
clip from The Office - Michael Scott [00:21:37] No seriously, is there anyone else who could do it better? Because we don't have a lot of time. I'll get the pizza.
Jenna [00:21:44] [laughing] Oh my gosh.
Angela [00:21:45] I love doing that scene with Steve. It was so fun. But yeah, go-go dancers, someone famous? His expectations for these parties are crazy. He always wanted something grand. It did crack me up when I was re-watching episodes that for his 15th anniversary at the company, he wanted it to feel like, "The opening of a car dealership."
Jenna [00:22:08] Oh, my goodness. Well, I want to talk about the evolution of the Party Planning Committee and I want to go back to the beginning. Let's start with the very first time we see the Party Planning Committee. It was in "The Alliance." This is when Michael comes in and he asks Pam and Phyllis and Angela to plan an impromptu birthday party for Meredith, even though it is not her birthday. What do you remember about this, Angela, about shooting this scene?
Angela [00:22:34] I will never forget this first scene of the Party Planning Committee. It's something that is just part of a core memory for me now. They had a few lines for us and then sort of encouraged us to just kind of find it. I remember so many long pauses, intentionally. Awkward pauses where Phyllis would finally say something, I would sh*t on it and you would be dying a slow death. We just did so many and it was so fun. And it was like lightning in a bottle to me. I thought, "Oh my God, this dynamic is amazing. It's a comedy chef's kiss."
Jenna [00:23:16] Yeah, for me, what was so exciting about it was that up until that point, I had kind of had two roles on the show. I had being the love interest role, part of this romantic couple; the Pam Jim, and then I had the dynamic with Pam and Michael, which was really fun. Which was him constantly asking me to do things that I didn't want to do, or whatever. This was this really funny new dynamic, like a new toy, and it involved the women in the office.
Angela [00:23:46] Mm-hmm.
Jenna [00:23:46] And office politics that I thought were so specific and real to office life.
Angela [00:23:52] Mm-hmm.
Jenna [00:23:54] And I just absolutely loved it. You're right, we all were so specific. I don't even know if they knew at the time that this was gonna go anywhere beyond this one episode, but surely after watching it, they knew.
Angela [00:24:09] Yeah, I remember being in the moment and thinking back to my improv days. You would always ask yourself, "What's the game of the scene?" The game of the scene was so clear and so fun to play that we could just go to the well over and over. It was also completely different than anything Michael and Dwight did. They had their own kind of thing and the pranks with Jim. This was its own different game and it was great. I remember Video Village freaking out.
Jenna [00:24:39] Oh yeah, this was so fun. We traded messages with Teri Weinberg, our exec producer, and we asked her, "Could you tell us about what it was like to watch this scene?"
Angela [00:24:51] Yeah, let's hear what she said.
Teri Weinberg [00:24:54] I remember when we first met the Party Planning Committee and it was in the Alliance. And as usual, I was in Video Village when we were shooting the episode. It was one of the funniest scenes I think I'd seen to date. And I think I almost got kicked out of the village because I was laughing so loud they could pick it up on the boom. And I looked at Greg and said, "My God, this is just gold. We need so much more of this." I remember us running out, (or me running, I'm sure) in between takes and into the conference room. And I think I looked at you guys and said, "Are you kidding me? Two thumbs up, a million thumbs up." It was just comedy gold.
Angela [00:25:46] I remember her running in.
Jenna [00:25:48] I do too.
Angela [00:25:49] And that was so exciting, too, because these were the early days of The Office. So when there was a buzz in Video Village, it just meant everything.
Jenna [00:25:58] Oh yeah, this was the time when, one: we were always worried we might get canceled.
Angela [00:26:04] Yeah.
Jenna [00:26:04] But also, I don't know... I felt like we were still proving ourselves every single day. I felt I had to prove that you gave me this role for a reason.
Angela [00:26:14] Yeah. I remember Phyllis and I were so excited because it meant we were in more of a story and not just in the deep background, which we loved being in. It didn't matter where we were. We were so happy to be there, but we really felt that. It's still special to me when I go back and watch The Alliance. I recently rewatched that scene with my daughter and she did say, "Mom, what is this hairstyle?" My character never had that hairstyle again. I think it was too much to do, but it was weird.
Jenna [00:26:45] Well, I found an extra scene for the Party Planning Committee in the table draft of The Alliance.
Angela [00:26:51] Oh, fun.
Jenna [00:26:52] Angela, we are always asking, "Where did the money come from for these parties?" And this little extra scene might help explain it. So this would have come right after Michael came in to call us all his "Party Planning Bia***hes."
Angela [00:27:05] Mm-hmm.
Jenna [00:27:06] He would have said, "So, what's the bottom line? What's this going to run us?" And Pam said, "Probably about $50." And Michael would have said, "Cool, so I'll pay with my credit card and collect, say, an even five bucks from everybody. Then I'll absorb the rest." Then Pam says, "There are 16 of us, that'll be $80." Then Michael, glancing to camera said, "Well, look who's the math whiz all of a sudden. We each owe $4.97.362 pennies. Carry the one. What are you, Al Gore? I mean, really, Pam." So, yes, I guess we would collect money for the parties.
Angela [00:27:51] Well, as you watch all these different party planning scenes, the number varies. So this one's $50, I think Launch Party was $65. Then we had the dueling Christmas parties for $200 and then 201, right?
Jenna [00:28:03] Yes.
Angela [00:28:03] Then the one that really cracked me up was Jim and Dwight. Dwight's like, "How much money have you collected?" And Jim says "$6" and Dwight goes "Damn it. That's what we put in."
Jenna [00:28:15] [laughing] I know. But listen, The Alliance is actually not the origin of the Party Planning Committee. This is just the origin for us, as Office viewers.
Angela [00:28:24] Right.
Jenna [00:28:25] We learn that the Party Planning Committee actually started years and years ago, thanks to a deleted scene from "New Boss." Michael explains to Charles Minor when exactly the party plan and committee began. Let's listen.
clip from The Office - Charles [00:28:41] What's going on in here?
clip from The Office - Michael Scott [00:28:42] Marty planning committee, not your concern, Charles.
clip from The Office - Charles [00:28:44] This doesn't seem like a good way to spend company time.
clip from The Office - Michael Scott [00:28:48] Alright. Well, the Party Planning Committee is an institution in this institution. It is something that I incorporated in the mid-90's to celebrate the laser disk release of "A League of Their Own." It has become a tradition here. It is something that is important to all of us. What did we do for League of Their Own Party?
clip from The Office - Dwight [00:29:06] "A Pizza of Your Own" party, make your own pizza. I didn't even work here then, I just heard the stories.
clip from The Office - Charles [00:29:11] Okay, thank you Dwight.
Jenna [00:29:13] So the PPC predates Dwight and it probably predates Angela.
Angela [00:29:19] Oh for sure.
Jenna [00:29:20] Which brings me to this question from Emily C. "How did Angela become the head of the Party Planning Committee? Parties are about having fun, which seems like something she wouldn't enjoy." And Aiden C. said, "If Angela hates time wasters and people not working, then why is she the head of the Party Planning Committee? And why does she keep supporting parties even when she is not?" And so Angela, when did Angela become known as the head of the Party Planning Committee? Do we know this?
Angela [00:29:53] Well, you and I were both really curious about this. So I went to Greg Daniels and I wrote him and I asked him about it. I haven't shared with you what he said because it tickled me so much and I wanted to surprise you. So Emily and Aiden, I shared both of your questions with Greg and he wrote me back this. "These are good questions. I think it was inspired by the improv in the pilot about Angela throwing a cat party."
Jenna [00:30:19] Wow!
Angela [00:30:20] I know! "It was a great way to energize the female characters into a little team. And of course, Angela would have the strongest opinions and be the head."
Jenna [00:30:30] Yes.
Angela [00:30:31] So my improv about Sprinkles and throwing this party at the office for my cat gave Greg this idea about the Party Planning Committee."
Jenna [00:30:41] Goodness, that little post-it note.
Angela [00:30:45] That I drew and walked around with, and then you looked at the Post-It note and shared it with Jim. "Are you going to Angela's cat party?" And he said no, because I hadn't given him one. I mean, this is the beauty of being a creative collaboration. Anyway, I just was delighted by that.
Jenna [00:31:05] Well, I'd like to paint a picture of Angela as head of the Party Planning Committee because she was, after all, the head of PPC for the first four seasons of The Office. We definitely got a sense of how she ran things. So first of all, she took this job very seriously. I feel like both her and Phyllis take the job very serious. Pam, Jim, Dwight, not so much. But when she recruited Ryan into the PPC, she sent a memo that said, "We need to prepare for every possible disaster." That's how Angela approaches her party planning.
Angela [00:31:41] I think that's how she approaches life.
Jenna [00:31:43] You might be right.
Angela [00:31:44] I think she walks out the door and says, "Not today, Satan. You're not coming for me."
Jenna [00:31:49] Well, Angela does not like it when people spring things on her out of nowhere. It actually made her emotional, when Michael changed the Christmas party gift exchange.
Angela [00:31:59] Mm-hmm.
Jenna [00:32:00] You know, she's a planner. We know how she plans decorations, food. She consistently has very specific criteria for both. She loves a theme. We know that she does not like when her authority is challenged. She gives the marching orders and she wants other people to follow them, and she kind of loses her sh*t when they don't.
Angela [00:32:20] Oh yeah.
Jenna [00:32:21] I mean, look at Benihana Christmas and Launch Party.
Angela [00:32:25] Oh, she's a mess when things don't go according to plan.
Jenna [00:32:28] But here's the other thing. She's also one of those people who'll give out jobs, but then she doesn't trust anyone. This is my favorite example of that. It is from a deleted talking head that was recently added back to the Super Fan version of "Goodbye, Toby."
clip from The Office - Angela [00:32:44] I was going to have Phyllis be in charge of cups today. But even then, I had a stack of cups standing by in my trunk.
Jenna [00:32:52] She's that person.
Angela [00:32:53] But can you blame her? I mean, Phyllis really dropped the ball. Many times, on very simple tasks. We'll get to it. Well, of course, there was always some type of PPC drama happening at Dunder Mifflin.
Jenna [00:33:06] That is an understatement.
Angela [00:33:07] Understatement, but guess what? The PPC drama wasn't only at the Scranton branch. It extended to other branches. I mean, who can forget Angela's rival, Denise Stems?
Jenna [00:33:18] We talked about her when we broke down Launch Party.
Angela [00:33:21] We did, and there was extra footage of Angela trashing Denise. We discussed it, but I thought we should hear it.
Jenna [00:33:27] Let's hear it, please.
clip from The Office - Angela [00:33:29] Tonight my party will be broadcast out to five other states, which means it will be compared to Denise Stims' party in Buffalo. Any idiot can defrost a microwavable hors d'oeuvres platter, and Denise proves that with every party she throws. Oh, and Denise, stop telling people your hair's naturally curly. We all know you get perms.
Jenna [00:33:51] Oh my goodness.
Angela [00:33:53] She just hates her. I mean, Angela Martin has got to know this is a documentary. Someone's gonna see this and she doesn't care.
Jenna [00:34:02] I'm so, so, so sad. We did not meet Denise Stims and her perm.
Angela [00:34:06] I know.
Jenna [00:34:07] You know who could have played Denise Stims? Jenny Slate.
Angela [00:34:11] Oh, yes.
Jenna [00:34:11] Wouldn't she have been a great Denise Stims?
Angela [00:34:13] Mm-hmm, yeah. I would like to see Denise Stims and Sconesy Cider in some kind of committee.
Jenna [00:34:22] There's your spin off, NBC.
Angela [00:34:23] There's your spin-off, "Denise Stims & Sconsey Cider." But Angela Martin's biggest nemesis was Phyllis.
Jenna [00:34:31] For sure.
Angela [00:34:32] There were so many standoffs between those two that there are multiple compilation videos on YouTube called either "Phyllis versus Angela," or "Angela versus Phyllis: the number one party planner." But here's one of my favorite moments from Phyllis and Angela drama. They are planning the launch party. Phyllis has a new strategy on how to deal with Angela, but to be fair, Phyllis really does mess up her duties.
clip from The Office - Angela [00:35:00] "Lunch Party?" It's supposed to say "Launch Party." What is wrong with you?
clip from The Office - Phyllis [00:35:04] [Talking Head] Angela is worse than usual lately and we have a party to throw. So I googled "how to deal with difficult people" and I got all of this. So we're going to try out some new things today.
clip from The Office - Phyllis [00:35:19] [to Angela] So how do you feel about the fact that the banner says "Lunch?"
clip from The Office - Angela [00:35:22] I feel angry. Angry at you. Angry at you for doing something stupid, angry at me for believing you could do something not stupid.
clip from The Office - Phyllis [00:35:32] So sorry to hear that. That must be awful.
clip from The Office - Angela [00:35:35] It is awful. You've made this day awful. I asked for assorted cutlery and I got back spoons. These are worthless.
clip from The Office - Phyllis [00:35:42] I want to understand what you're saying but it's difficult for me when you use that tone.
clip from The Office - Angela [00:35:49] [gently and condescendingly] Phyllis, These are spoons. Spoons have rounded tops and are used to scoop things. What we need are forks, which have prongs or tiny spears on top. And we need knives which have blades. Do you understand me now?
clip from The Office - Phyllis [00:36:10] Yes.
clip from The Office - Angela [00:36:12] [flatly] Goodie.
Jenna [00:36:13] Well, all of that, Angela, is why it is so very satisfying when Phyllis becomes head of the Party Planning Committee.
Angela [00:36:22] But Phyllis goes hardcore, too.
Jenna [00:36:23] She does. Yeah, it's pretty juicy. She becomes head of the PPC through blackmail.
Angela [00:36:28] Yeah, through blackmail. She holds that over Angela's head for a long time. But I thought we should discuss the parties that Phyllis threw during her reign as head of the PPC. We have Toby's goodbye party, Stanley's birthday party, Jan's baby shower, and (of course) Nights in Morocco, her holiday party. Her parties were often very over the top and seemed to have lavish budgets. You and I both think Bob Vance chipped in.
Jenna [00:36:59] Yeah. Well, besides Stanley's birthday party, which ended up being very lame, but only because Michael refused to let her serve cake.
Angela [00:37:08] Yeah, fruit only.
Jenna [00:37:10] I think the other parties were some of our better parties. Toby's goodbye party? Come on. A whole carnival in the parking lot.
Angela [00:37:19] Yeah, I mean, Michael was not impressed with Jan's baby shower, but you know...
Jenna [00:37:23] I thought it was lovely.
Angela [00:37:24] I did too.
Jenna [00:37:26] It was totally appropriate.
Angela [00:37:27] [laughing] I know.
Jenna [00:37:29] Well, I asked writer Justin Spitzer, why did they decide to make Phyllis the head of the Party Planning Committee? I love this plot twist.
Angela [00:37:36] Mm-hmm.
Jenna [00:37:37] And here's what he had to say. He said, "It's always fun to flip the power dynamic between characters with different statuses. In this case, Angela had spent years using the minuscule, meaningless amount of authority she had on the Party Planning Committee to treat Phyllis like dirt. So we figured that if Phyllis caught Angela having an affair, Phyllis could use that knowledge to finally be the one on top. It's kind of a revenge fantasy. But what I really liked is that Phyllis turns into a bigger bully than Angela ever was."
Angela [00:38:12] Thank you, Justin!
Jenna [00:38:14] Justin said that some people thought that it was out of character for Phyllis, but I think the whole point was that this just revealed who Phyllis was all along.
Angela [00:38:23] I feel very seen right now, by Justin.
Jenna [00:38:26] Finally, Justin said that there's something kind of universal about the worst tyrants not being inherently strong people, but weak people who suddenly get power and abuse it.
Angela [00:38:37] Oh, he's so smart.
Jenna [00:38:39] So smart!
Angela [00:38:40] I loved that. Well, you know, Phyllis ultimately loses control of the Party Planning Committee. In "Lecture Circuit: Part 1," Michael puts Jim and Dwight in charge of the Party Planning Committee because there was "too much drama." I guess Michael believes that consolidating power into a single head position was too dangerous. So now the committee has a chairmanship that is shared.
Jenna [00:39:02] Well, my personal favorite Party Planning Committee clip is from Lecture Circuit and it is when Jim and Dwight present Kelly with her birthday cake and Phyllis is kind of listening in from the kitchen table. Let's hear it.
clip from The Office - Jim [00:39:17] And, ta-da!
clip from The Office - Kelly [00:39:21] I hate it.
clip from The Office - Jim [00:39:22] How do you hate it? It's a cake.
clip from The Office - Kelly [00:39:23] Well, there's no flowers or toys or... I mean, there is nothing on it. Where did you even find a cake like this? I mean it doesn't have my name on it! Do you guys know what my name is? My name is Kelly!
clip from The Office - Jim [00:39:35] [Talking Head] I forgot if there was an E between the L and the Y. I still don't know.
clip from The Office - Kelly [00:39:40] I mean, I don't even know what the theme is! What's the theme?
clip from The Office - Jim [00:39:42] Birthday.
clip from The Office - Dwight [00:39:45] Frosting.
clip from The Office - Kelly [00:39:47] Those aren't themes. There's always a theme.
clip from The Office - Phyllis [00:39:55] There's always a theme.
clip from The Office - Dwight [00:39:57] Nice job on the cake, bozo.
clip from The Office - Jim [00:39:59] Okay, you know what? Next time I'll let you get the cake and I get to scream at the birthday girl.
Jenna [00:40:04] Amazing.
Angela [00:40:05] So good. And you know what? There is always a theme. And I think Angela Martin would have appreciated Kelly and Phyllis noting that.
Jenna [00:40:12] Well, we got a letter from Erin O. who asked, "Was there ever a consideration of adding Kelly to the Party Planning Committee? I feel like she would have had a lot of ideas for parties."
Angela [00:40:23] Mm-hmm.
Jenna [00:40:25] I had never thought about this until I read this question. Why wasn't Kelly on the Party Planning Committee?
Angela [00:40:31] Well, I think you and I know. Because Mindy was a writer and they needed her in the writer's room. They couldn't keep adding her to stories in the main bullpen. That's my guess.
Jenna [00:40:39] I think Angela wouldn't let her on the Party Planning Committee.
Angela [00:40:43] Well, yeah.
Jenna [00:40:44] I feel like there's some meeting where she was on the committee and got kicked off. I feel she was like Karen.
Angela [00:40:52] Oh, yeah, that she got escorted out?
Jenna [00:40:54] Yes.
Angela [00:40:54] I believe that. I found a place where I thought she was in a meeting.
Jenna [00:40:59] Well, I didn't see her in a meeting, necessarily, but she is the person who's decorating for the Lonely Hearts Valentine's Day party in "Blood Drive."
Angela [00:41:08] Mm-hmm.
Jenna [00:41:08] I think that's the only time we ever see her decorating.
Angela [00:41:11] Yeah, I think you're right, which makes you think she had been given a task. Maybe she was on the committee. But I did want to point out that she's also in the conference room in Launch Party Part 1. She's with Angela, Phyllis, Pam, and Oscar when Michael needs advice about if his shirt is too tight for the fancy New York City party that Ryan's hosting.
Jenna [00:41:31] Oh.
Angela [00:41:32] Yeah.
Jenna [00:41:32] OK.
Angela [00:41:33] But we can't discuss the Party Planning Committee without talking about the moment in season 5 when Charles Minor disbands the committee! I think we can all blame Jim for that one. Here he is dressed in a tux, and he's saying that they should have a two-way petting zoo at Michael's anniversary party. You pet them, they pet you back. And Charles is like, "This is over."
Jenna [00:41:53] He says it's over, but then in season six, in "Secretary's Day," Andy thanks Angela for organizing the Secretary's Day party. So how did that happen? The committee is back, Angela is head of the PPC again? Clearly somehow the PPC has reorganized.
Angela [00:42:12] Mm-hmm
Jenna [00:42:12] But then, in season seven, Classy Christmas, when Pam gets office administrator job, she announces that she is dismantling the PPC.
Angela [00:42:24] Mm-hmm.
Jenna [00:42:25] So this made me wonder, did we ever see the PPC again? Because there were parties, but if it was disbanded who planned them? Because there more parties in season eight and season nine.
Angela [00:42:36] So true.
Jenna [00:42:37] So we felt like we had to really deep dive this.
Angela [00:42:40] Yeah guys, we were two ladies googling up a storm.
Jenna [00:42:45] Well, we're gonna take a break. When we come back, we'll tell you what we found out.
Angela [00:42:48] Yeah.
Jenna [00:42:48] [musical sting]
Angela [00:42:52] Alright, so as we dig deeper, we had to open up season eight, y'all. And there were only a handful of office parties this season. So in the episode "Christmas Wishes," there is a holiday party happening at work. Andy's dressed as Santa. He's making people's wishes come true, but there was zero mention of the Party Planning Committee.
Jenna [00:43:11] Yes, how did all the decorations get up? We never find out.
Angela [00:43:13] We never find out. I went to the shooting draft to see if something was mentioned in the script. Nothing. But then, get excited, because we have a real twist in the PPC drama in the episode "Spooked."
Jenna [00:43:26] Yes.
Angela [00:43:27] We learned from Pam that Andy put Erin in charge of the entire Halloween party. Robert California texts Andy and says that his expectations are high, so Andy is tense. Things are not going to go well for Erin. Robert's super snarky son calls the party lame. Then Andy cowardly replaces Erin. You have to hear it.
clip from The Office - Erin [00:43:49] Oh, I put those up.
clip from The Office - Angela [00:43:50] I know, I'm taking them down.
clip from The Office - Phyllis [00:43:52] I almost wonder if putting nothing on this wall is more Halloween-y.
clip from The Office - Erin [00:43:59] I don't know about this, guys. Andy put me in charge of the Halloween party, so.
clip from The Office - Angela [00:44:03] Well, Andy sent us in here, so which is it? So can we speak our minds now, or are we still sparing feelings? Because I hate all of this.
Jenna [00:44:16] Wow.
Angela [00:44:17] Who did Andy send in but Phyllis and Angela? So are they back?
Jenna [00:44:22] I don't know, because next up is "Welcome Party."
Angela [00:44:27] That's right. And I think there's another power shift. So we need to discuss this, Lady, because I wanted to bring this up to you. It's the cold open and Pam and Phyllis together, as a team, they approached Jim. They have this get well card for Stanley and they want Jim to sign it and they get into an argument. Gets a little heated. Pam gets spicy. I want you to hear it.
clip from The Office - Pam [00:44:50] Hey Jim, Stanley's back from the hospital today, can you sign his card?
clip from The Office - Jim [00:44:56] [reading the card] "Glad they didn't mix up your tonsillectomy with a mustacheectomy." Oh, that's not good.
clip from The Office - Phyllis [00:45:02] Well, because your jokes are all hilarious.
clip from The Office - Pam [00:45:05] It's nice, it's funny. It mentions his tonsillectomy and makes a funny little joke about his mustache.
clip from The Office - Jim [00:45:09] Stanley doesn't have a mustache.
clip from The Office - Pam [00:45:13] Yeah, he does.
clip from The Office - Dwight [00:45:14] Pam, hit the brakes, Stanley does not have a mustache. I misspoke. I'm not sure. I think he has one. Now that, I think it has a mustache.
clip from The Office - Pam [00:45:24] Okay, Phyllis sits across from him every day. Phyllis, does he have a mustache or not?
clip from The Office - Phyllis [00:45:28] Oh, I don't know. Um, now I think he doesn't.
clip from The Office - Pam [00:45:31] Phyllis! What are you talking about? The whole card depends on this!
Angela [00:45:35] "The whole card depends on this!" Pam is mad at Phyllis. Now I think this could show that Pam and Phyllis are back in cahoots as Party Planning Committee heads.
Jenna [00:45:46] See, I don't think this is evidence of the Party Planning Committee. I think there's still no official Party Planning Committee at this point. I think this was why Andy had to ask Erin to do the party, and this is why he had to call in Angela and Phyllis. I think it's still disbanded at this point.
Angela [00:46:07] Okay.
Jenna [00:46:07] And I think that this get well card is just something that Pam is doing as office administrator and probably Phyllis is closest with Stanley and so Pam has kind of consulted her. That's my take on it.
Angela [00:46:19] I think that's a really good take. It brings the question, the Get Well card, are those part of the PPC duties? You know, they have this elaborate card for Meredith's birthday that everyone signs. It's got the bird on it.
Jenna [00:46:31] I know, and see, I think that is part of the PPC.
Angela [00:46:34] Right.
Jenna [00:46:35] Because there's a party attached to it. If it's a birthday party, it comes with a birthday card.
Angela [00:46:41] So if there was a get well party...
Jenna [00:46:44] There might be a get-well card.
Angela [00:46:45] This is blurry, this gets blurry.
Jenna [00:46:47] Oh no. This is why there's so much drama. People don't know what their role is.
Angela [00:46:53] But then, there is a clear PPC meeting that comes later in this episode. It's in the break room. It's Pam, Angela, Phyllis, and Oscar.
Jenna [00:47:01] Yes, because of Robert California. He says to the whole bullpen though, he says, "Throw Nellie a welcome party."
Angela [00:47:09] Yes.
Jenna [00:47:10] He does not direct it at any one person, I noticed. But yes, now from that directive, we go to the break room.
Angela [00:47:18] Right, and remember, no one liked Nellie.
clip from The Office - Phyllis [00:47:23] I can't believe he's making us throw a party for her.
clip from The Office - Pam [00:47:26] I know, right?
clip from The Office - Oscar [00:47:26] She's always late, she's always rude.
clip from The Office - Phyllis [00:47:28] It kind of makes me want to throw a really bad party.
clip from The Office - Oscar [00:47:30] Yeah.
clip from The Office - Phyllis [00:47:32] On purpose.
clip from The Office - Pam [00:47:33] Phyllis?
clip from The Office - Phyllis [00:47:36] We should do it right here in the break room. Order carrot cake.
clip from The Office - Oscar [00:47:42] Sounds delicious. And I'm not talking about the cake.
clip from The Office - Angela [00:47:48] He's talking about the revenge. Pam, you should make those cookies that you make.
clip from The Office - Oscar [00:47:54] [shushing Angela]
clip from The Office - Angela [00:47:54] What?
clip from The Office - Phyllis [00:47:56] She doesn't know.
Jenna [00:47:59] What are my gross cookies?
Angela [00:48:00] I don't know, but I like that Oscar, the way he shushes me, he goes tsk tsk, tsk. But they are all in cahoots that they hate Pam's cookies.
Jenna [00:48:10] Well, Jim gives Pam that information. That there's something that Nellie hates about magicians.
Angela [00:48:15] Right, because they're helping her move into her apartment and she tells them all this stuff about her personal life.
Jenna [00:48:20] Yes, so Pam suggests they get a magician. But then Jim calls her and is like, "Don't get a magician." So Pam has to pivot away from the bad party.
Angela [00:48:29] It's too late though, the magician's on the way.
Jenna [00:48:32] The train has left the station.
Angela [00:48:34] There is a second PPC scene where Pam is now trying to backpedal and get them out of this.
Jenna [00:48:40] Yes, and during that scene, at one point, Angela says, "I wanted to leave you out."
Angela [00:48:46] Yeah, to Pam.
Jenna [00:48:47] Right. So, is Angela back in charge? What does this mean?
Angela [00:48:53] I'm not sure. You know, I don't think she's solely back in charged. I think there's a more equal balance of power now, based off the cold open that I talked about with Pam and Phyllis and then this moment at the very end of Nellie's lame party. Let's hear it.
clip from The Office - Magician [00:49:09] Little known fact about me, before I was a magician, I used to work at a rope factory.
clip from The Office - Jim [00:49:15] Not true, because that's not a real place.
clip from The Office - Magician [00:49:17] But I never could seem to figure out those knots.
clip from The Office - Pam [00:49:21] That's not a real knot. When you pull on it, it disappears.
clip from The Office - Magician [00:49:23] WHAT THE HELL! Alright, where's Phyllis? Who's Phylis? Look, this is really uncool, okay? I put on a clean show here!
clip from The Office - Dwight [00:49:33] Okay, scram, wizard!
clip from The Office - Magician [00:49:35] What?
clip from The Office - Dwight [00:49:35] You heard me!
Angela [00:49:37] Where's Phyllis?
Jenna [00:49:39] That just proves she hired the magician. That doesn't mean she's in charge. That might have been her task.
Angela [00:49:44] I know. So I am saying I don't think Angela is in charge. Angela didn't have the get-well card for Stanley. She wasn't part of that. She also didn't call the magician. She's in the meeting, same as Oscar. I'm saying that I think there's a more equal sharing of power at this point.
Jenna [00:50:00] We're saying the same thing, nobody is the head of this committee.
Angela [00:50:04] Exactly.
Jenna [00:50:04] Alright, let's get to season nine. Season nine, here comes trouble. Halloween Party. Tons of decorations. There's cups that say "boo." There's punch and cookies. Who threw this party? Angela brings the senator to the party. After he arrives, he looks at the food table and Angela says, "Who designed this spread? The sweets and savories are mixed together. This is mayhem!"
Angela [00:50:28] She really hates that, she really hates the sweet and savories.
Jenna [00:50:31] She has so many opinions about where food is placed. Then she says, "This is outrageous. I have to find Phyllis." In the Super Fan episode, they added back a scene where she finds Phyllis. It's a little different than the version that's in the deleted scenes, because you shared about the deleted scene version in our breakdown of "Here Comes Trouble." This Super Fan scene has even more information. Let's listen.
clip from The Office - Angela [00:51:02] Brownies and ginger snaps on the same plate? Where was the logic there? What was going through your mind?
clip from The Office - Phyllis [00:51:08] I just thought it was a party and people wouldn't think too much about it.
clip from The Office - Angela [00:51:12] Ridiculous. You know, if you're not going to focus, maybe you shouldn't be in charge of arranging the snacks.
clip from The Office - Phyllis [00:51:19] Your decorations, I'm food.
clip from The Office - Angela [00:51:21] Snack arrangements is a type of decoration. We have to start all over.
clip from The Office - Phyllis [00:51:25] Okay, go ahead.
clip from The Office - Angela [00:51:26] I can't picture it. I'm all confused.
clip from The Office - Phyllis [00:51:29] Maybe the cupcakes with the ginger snaps?
clip from The Office - Angela [00:51:33] No, nothing should be with the gingers snaps. Ginger snaps are off-putting to some people.
clip from The Office - Phyllis [00:51:37] What about that thing?
clip from The Office - Angela [00:51:39] I don't even think that's food.
Jenna [00:51:43] She says that Angela was decorations and Phyllis was food. I feel like Angela is bossing Phyllis around as if she's in charge.
Angela [00:51:53] You can't deny the woman who she is, she's bossy. Okay? She's bossy, and she has this phrasing that I've never used before, "snack arrangements, which are also part of decorating." She's not wrong about the ginger snaps, though. I don't think they should be on the same tray as cupcakes, I'm gonna say that.
Jenna [00:52:10] Why serve them at all, if they're so off-putting to people?
Angela [00:52:13] I don't know.
Jenna [00:52:14] Alright, well, if you are not convinced that Angela is back in charge yet, may I present "Dwight's Christmas?"
Angela [00:52:21] Okay.
Jenna [00:52:22] So, first of all, everybody forgets about the party. Do we remember this? Let's listen.
clip from The Office - Erin [00:52:30] Hey guys, the Christmas party is today.
clip from The Office - Pam [00:52:32] Merry Christmas everyone!
clip from The Office - Phyllis [00:52:34] No.
clip from The Office - Kelly [00:52:35] Is it?
clip from The Office - Pam [00:52:35] I mean, it says "Xmas party," but I think we all know what that's code for.
clip from The Office - Kevin [00:52:38] So we're not gonna have a Christmas party this year? Angela, how could you do this to us?
clip from The Office - Angela [00:52:43] Oh right, like I'm responsible because I'm in charge of the Party Planning Committee?
clip from The Office - Kevin [00:52:47] Well, you are the one in charge -
clip from The Office - Angela [00:52:49] Don't blame me for something we all forgot!
Jenna [00:52:52] You say it. Again, thanks to the Super Fan version, we got this extra little delightful gem in this episode. Lady, after this moment, Angela takes a tiny bedazzled box out of her desk and she opens it up and there's a little pink whistle inside. Let's listen.
clip from The Office - Angela [00:53:20] [whistle tweets] Party Planning Committee emergency meeting. Now.
Jenna [00:53:23] Mm-hmm mm-hm.
Angela [00:53:25] I remember doing that, too. I remember that.
Jenna [00:53:29] And then the people who stand up after the whistle blows are Pam, Phyllis, and Oscar. So there you have it. That is our PPC.
Angela [00:53:38] And I remember, wasn't season nine where Angela's going through all that stuff, right? She's really going through it in life. So that was sort of a justification that she's so distracted by her personal life that she forgot.
Jenna [00:53:50] She forgot about the Christmas party. But also added back to the Super Fan version of Dwight's Christmas are all the scenes that you talked about in our breakdown of Dwights Christmas, where we have this pitch meeting in the conference room and all these people come in and pitch their idea, their theme for a Christmas party to the Party Planning Committee. And Angela is very clearly the one in charge, when you watch these extra scenes.
Angela [00:54:16] Okay, so she got it back.
Jenna [00:54:18] She got it back. The show starts and ends with Angela as head of the PPC.
Angela [00:54:26] And the idea for the Party Planning Committee came from me drawing Sprinkles the Cat on a Post-It, passing it around, and Jenna looking at it and improvising a line. Lady, high five!
Jenna [00:54:41] We started it. We did it. Me and you started the Party Planning Committee.
Angela [00:54:45] We did, lady. We really did.
Jenna [00:54:47] Well, you're welcome, everyone. Well before we go, we did have this question come in from both Jenna F. and Angela K. In Los Angeles.
Angela [00:54:56] Oh, they love to write into Office Ladies.
Jenna [00:54:58] Yes, Jenna and Angela said "Who would you nominate as head of The Office cast and crew PPC?" So this was our fun way
Angela [00:55:06] I know
Jenna [00:55:07] Of being able to talk about some of the people who contributed behind the scenes on The Office to our own personal parties
Angela [00:55:13] Yeah.
Jenna [00:55:13] Because we had them.
Angela [00:55:14] We did. So why don't we start with who would help make things feel festive on the set?
Jenna [00:55:20] Yes.
Angela [00:55:21] Okay, behind the scenes. Whenever we would walk to stage, in hair and makeup, they always decorated the trailer. They went all out for the holidays. But then they had stations backstage where they would give you touch ups. They would decorate that area. Then there was always just things all behind the scene. I reached out to Steve Burgess and I said, "Steve, who would decorate the set every year?" And he said that it was a combination. "Our set deck crew always decorated backstage and also hair and makeup did their section. Jimmy McDermott and his crew did most of the backstage and also crafty would decorate their area." And he said, "Although Peter and Vartan weren't huge decorators." And then he said "Post-production also had decorations. The one area I didn't think had a ton was the writer's room. But the production office, we always had something. We'd put a little tree in our office every year."
Jenna [00:56:20] Well, I remember I used to walk into Michael Gallenberg's trailer at the holidays, and they would always have a little tree up over there. They were the production design office, and I knew that Jim McDermott used to put up the Christmas trees.
Angela [00:56:35] Backstage, yeah, where we would all eat. But yeah everywhere you walked throughout all the different stages and offices a lot of the department did little things.
Jenna [00:56:46] Well, Lady, I came across something in my digital clutter. It made me want to nominate Paul Feig and Laurie Feig.
Angela [00:56:56] Oh, for outside the Office parties.
Jenna [00:56:58] Yes, you know they used to throw these viewing parties for us to come watch the show at their place and I found one of his invitations.
Angela [00:57:07] Oh!
Jenna [00:57:08] I think it gives you a little glimpse into what these were like. Here's what he said, "Hey everyone I realized that the production day may go long today but we'll be keeping the party and the taco truck going. Whenever you wrap, if you still have energy and the hunger for tacos and the thirst for drink, please come over. We'll be showing the episode a second time and this way we can even skip the commercials. So please still come by if you have the energy. The house is decorated and the fun will only multiply as the evening wears on. And if you wrap out early, the party still starts at 7:30 p.m." So this was sent in December. So their house must've been decorated for the holidays.
Angela [00:57:54] They have the most charming home, too.
Jenna [00:57:57] I love that there was a taco truck and that we would watch it live. That's why he said to come at 7.30. "We'll watch it live, but we'll play it again if you had to go late at work."
Angela [00:58:09] I have something so sweet to share and I didn't know you were gonna read that today and I absolutely love it. It just brought up this memory to me and it's just this wonderful thing about Paul Feig and his wife Laurie. They're such great hosts. He had a viewing party and Isabel was a couple of months old and I just said, "Oh Paul, I'd love to go but I don't have childcare and I have Isabel that evening."And he was like, "Bring her." I was like, "Paul, she's a baby. What if she starts fussing or something?" He goes, "Angela. I will just make a little area for you, where you can go and if she needs anything, you'll just step outside the viewing room. You'll just step into a little nook, you know?" And so I did. I was like, "Are you serious?" And he was like "Yes." And so, I kind of planned out a nap/feeding session. So I got there and she was just asleep and I just held her and I got to be a part of it. Because you know, sometimes when you're a new mom, you miss out on stuff.
Jenna [00:59:04] Exactly.
Angela [00:59:05] And then when she did kind of start to stir, I went out of the living room and I went to this little nook with her and I have a picture from the nook with Isabel.
Jenna [00:59:14] No way!
Angela [00:59:15] Yeah.
Jenna [00:59:16] That's so sweet.
Angela [00:59:17] But just so welcoming, you know? No fuss, just wanting to gather and be with friends. That's Paul and Laurie.
Jenna [00:59:25] Well everyone, there you have it. That is our episode diving deep into the Party Planning Committee.
Angela [00:59:31] We did wear our Party Planning Committee sweatshirts today.
Jenna [00:59:33] We sure did. We did and we want to say a big thank you to Justin Spitzer and Steve Burgess and Greg Daniels for giving us those extra little tidbits about how this all came about.
Angela [00:59:45] That's right. And to Jordan Duffy for being here today and also filming a cheesy video we tried to make. We'll post it if it's cute.
Jenna [00:59:54] Alright everyone, see you next week.
Angela [00:59:56] See you then!
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.
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.