The Reveal of Angela's Affair

Welcome to your second drink of Moroccan Christmas This episode has a little bit of everything It has an intervention, a scandalous affair, and princess unicorn dolls And we have a lot of fun details We reached out to folks from the cast and crew for behind the scenes trivia Listen to this list Justin Spitzer, Eron Schurer, Holstead Sullivan, Jen Slata, Randy Cordre, James Carerey, Stehven Sos, and Kate Flannery all shared amazing stuff with us for this episode I mean, we left no rock unturned for this one. This for sure true So let's dig into the second drink. A lot of you wrote in about the Princess Unicorn storyline And like Jenna said, we have great details about how it all came together And Jenna, when we broke down the episode originally, you mentioned there was a commercial for the doll, but we never played it on the podcast. Well shout out to Office Ladies listener, Shar T, who said, OMG, I found the Princess Unicorn commercial. And she shared the link with us So I guess Peacock put it on their official YouTube a few years ago You gott to hear it It's Princess unicorn She's princess unicorn royalty with the home Hest gums ever one Oh again She's so regal. I love her heorn. Ena F Silly b Jia. Cana Corn, I love you on Princess H Norn new Canda pack Cind and pier's the sky. Wow. It's amazing. Royalty with a horn Well, Angela, when we first broke down this episode, you mentioned two things that you could make out on the dry erase board over in accounting Mhm But we had a listener that was able to decipher almost the entire board. It is an amazing list of stuff Izzy T from Illinois wrote in with this list. and I thought you would enjoy this lady because you love a background catch. I do. I really do. Izzy said I looked very intensely at the whiteboard calendar that comes up around one minute forty seven seconds. and I think I have found out most of the month's schedule for December. On the tenth There is copier machine maintenance at ten AM and an Oxford rep due at nine AM On the fifteenth, there is a Christmas partarty planning commommittee meeting at four PM in the conference room. On the seventeenth There is the Scranton CFC Annual holiday luncheon at Cooper's twelve AM. When Izzy wrote Yes, it really says AM. On the eighteenth, there's an accounting staff meeting at nine AM The twenty third of December the Warehouse is closed and it says no shipping until twelve twenty six Also, on the twenty fourth, it says Christmas Eve office closed at noon, office Christmas party one PM On the twenty fifth, it says Merry Christmas On december thirtieth, it says Warehouse closed, no shipping until january second And then on december thirty first, it says office closed. And then for the thirty first and the first, it says happappy New Year So much detail. That is amazing background catchw. because I remember I tried to zoom in and I pretty much the thing that stood out to me was that the Christmas party was on Christmas Eve, which I thought was hilarious Also, a lot of people wrote in about the Angeline Phillllis Party Planning Committee power struggle Elise M from Pennsylvania says, I absolutely love the scenes between Angela and Phyllis. They are hilarious. They make me laugh every time I watch this episode. How did you all stop from completely cracking up? Well, Elise, it was really difficult not to laugh And we did laugh a ton. But just for fun, I wanted to see if there were any extra bits between me and Phyllis And I found in the candy Bag alts all of these Phyllis talking headad als. they are so hilarious and I wanted to read you one, okay? Yes, yes. It's an alt about how she's kind of flexing that she's planning this Christmas party herself Okay, Ready? Yes. Pyllis The Christmas party I organized this year is going to be our best one yet I'm really good at this I'm considering starting a party planning business on the side I'd call it tch of Pyllis because everything's a little sweeter with a touch of Pyllis And then she takes out a notepad and says, Ooh, that's good I can see that on a bench somewhere Iove it, a touch of Pyllis Well, lastly, we got a fan mail flurry. Samantha H. Debie R, Nathan S, Mikaela N, Allison D, Mackenzie P. and Tamara L all wrote in. because of a little bit of fantter you and I had Angela asked you why the character of Angela Martin was always so angry at Christmas And And you said that there are levels to Angela Martin's anger, but that the quote Christmasch is a whole other level of j. Well we got several messages. Like I said, a fan mail flurry of people saying, please make Christmas into a sweater. Another one said quote, I really feel like Christmasch needs to be on some seasonal merch just really cracked me up Oh, Christmas is really fun. I totally forgot about that. Now you guys all have my wheels turn and all right, well, that was really fun. Thanks to everyone who wrote in and please go to officeladies. com to submit your favorite second drink moments and we'll share them on the podcast. And now here's our second drink of Moroccan Christmas I Fisish and I'm Angela Kinzy. We were on the office together, and we're best friends. And now we're doing the ultimate Office rewatch podcast just for you. Each week, we will break down an episode of the Office and give exclusive behind the scene stories that only two people who were there can tell you. We're the office ladies I hope you're in a festive mood today because we're talking about Moroccan Christmas. So get out your Christmas plaid but put away that nativity scene becausecause Phllis is gonna throw you the party of a lifetime. She sure is It's season five, episode eleven written by Justin Spitzer and directed by Paul Feg Here is your summary As you said, Phyllis throws a Moroccan themed Christmas party. which receives compomliments from the majority of the group, but some serious contempt from Angela. Oh, she is not happy Dwite runs a black market doll trade out of the office And Meredith gets wasted and sets herself on fire Dzy have a sentence. It's quite a work party. Michael decides to hold an intervention demanding Meredith get help for her alcoholism And then talk about a doozy of a work party. Phyllis spills the beans about Angela and Dwight in front of everyone. Everyone. She announces it to the whole bullpen. Except Andy Oh, Andy Andy in a sitar Goodbye as he's leaving Broke heart. We're getting ahead. We're getting ahead. All right Fast fact to number one. This was the third Christmas themed episode of the Office. Yes, it was. Season five But only three Christmas episodes. Why Well, the first season we didn't have one. And then in season four It was the writer's strike. I know. We missed a Christmas party. It has been two years since we had a Christmas party on the office. They were always some of my favorite episodes, so I was excited. Me too I liked them because they were majority group scenes. Yes, we were all together all the time. It was like a whole episode of conference room So lots of bits, lotots of the laughing. We would just have the best time. We would get loopy. We would. But in the best way fact number two The inspiration for this episode, I was able to get in touch with writer Justin Spitzer. What Justin have to say? He told me that they had had these two ideas rolling around for a really long time The first one was the idea of a Moroccan Christmas They just loved the idea that Phyllis had thrown that amazing goodbye party for Toby and that maybe the success had gone to her head a little bit. And she's gonna go big, big theme. Yes They loved that this would piss Angela off. So this was like one card, right? You know what the card probably said? What? Phyll is happy Angela pissed Christmas. Question mark. Why is your character always so angry on Christmas? She's angry all the time, but it really comes out of the holidays She has levels of anger. Sometimes she's like suspicious bitch Sometimes she's happy bitch she's sad bitch . And then Christmas bitch is a whole different bitch. Oh. Buckle in for Christmas bitch Okay, so the other card that they had on the wall for a really long time said Meredith Intervention Oh Okay. So they decided to marry these two ideas Remember when they did like, Michael has to fire someone on Halloween while we're all dressed up? Yeah, it's the same thing. Yes, exactly. Justin said that a holiday party also seemed like a really good place for Meredith to drink too much and set her hair on fire There could be this sort of rock bottomy moment. Right. And it's an event. It's like a big event and everyone's there to witness it. Yes This fact number three I have a talking head observation for this episode I'm so curious So as you rewatch this episode, Take a note of the talking heads Almost all of them are filmed from different angles than we normally would. I believe there's only one where someone's seated in the traditional chair with the kind of party through the. Right. Right. We're all over the office. All over the office. So this was not just because there was a party happening behind us Justin said this was because They wanted to wait until they were in the editing room to place the talking heads throughout the episode and they didn't want anything in the background to like in some way, mess up their ability to move these talking heads around. Well, they had probably learned their lesson from that episode, weight loss. Yeah where they had to digitally, that's hardwd to say, they had to digitally change Ed's tie and shirt because they kept moving the talking heads and what was happening behind him didn't match. Yeah, so you'll notice even Michael's talking heads, he is not seated at his desk. He's standing in front of his desk and they purposely framed out the window behind him. because timing wise, they didn't know if it would be like still daytime or if it would be evening So they really tried to make all the talking heads as totally neutral as possible. Smart. Yeah. And it was kind of fun after Justin told me that I went back and rewatched the episode and it was totally true. Yeah. I read the shooting draft And definitely things are moved all around. So it's good they did it. Yeah That's all I got. Well before we get into this episode, I went digging in my digital clutter. Okay. And I found an email from Paul Feg that on december eleventh, two thousand eight He emailed the group, Jenna, and invited us all to a Christmas taco party to watch the Moroccan Christmas episode at his house. Oh. And he said, I know, I know Morocco and tacos make no sense, except they do kind of rhyme and we have a really great taco cart that we wanna use And we all went over to his house december eleventh, two thousand eight and watched Morocco and Christmas together. A, I love that you brought that up because Paul and Laurie Feg used to host so many viewing parties at their house and they were just the most wonderful hosts and I'll never forget He had that screen come down from the ceiling. So he had like a very normal looking living room Yeah Czy like a place you'd read books. I believe there was like a green leather chair. Oh yeah, there was like cozy chairs with like a blanket draped over it. So cozy and then all of a sudden when it was time to watch the show, the screen would come down out of the ceiling and it would turn into this amazing viewing experience I thought these guys are doing it right. They know what they're doing. Yeah. and they have a great taco cart A, that's so cool Well, there you go, just a little something from my digital clutter Now we should break down this episode Well, I think we should take a break first. And now we should take a break. Let's do it and we'll be back to talk All things Morocan Christmas This podcast is brought to you by Squarespace. Because we love Squarespace. We have been tooling around with offfficeladies dot comot If you haven't been to our website in a little while, will you please go and see the new stuff we have? We have organization. Some of you guys were like, we want the episodes in folders. seeason one, season two, season three, not just chronologically. I know. We did that. Thanks to Squarespace. That's right. They have cutting edge design tools Are you ready for this? Squarespace also makes it easy to showcase your expertise and engage clients with video content. And you know, to get started, you need a domain Squarespace Domains makes it easy to find the best name for your business at one fair, all inclusive price, no hidden fees or add ons required. So go to squarespace dot com slash offffice ladies for a free trial and when you're ready to launch, use offer code offffice ladies to save ten percent off your first purchase of a website or domain For all the parents out there with teenagers, Cash app is here to help make sure your teenens's money and their spending isn't adding to that craziness. With the Cash app card, available to teens thirteen to seventeen with sponsorship by an eligible parent or guardian, every transaction they make triggers a real time notification and that can empower your teen to practice independence, but also give you peace of mind by tracking their spending. New cash app customers can earn ten dollars if they use code Family ten in their profile at sign up and send five dollars to a friend within fourteen days. Terms apply Cash app is a financial services platform, not a bank Banking serervices provided by Cash app Bank partartners, prepaid debit cards issued by Sutton Bank member FDIC, CashA Visa debit flex cards issued by Sutton Bank member FDIC and the Bankcorp Bank NA pursuant to a license from VisaUSA Inc. See terms and conditions for the Sutton prepaid card, Sutton debit Flex card, and Bankcor deebit flex card, savings provided by cash app bra visit cash d. app slash legal slash podcasts for full disclosures. Well we are back and u Wow, is Dwight's desk festive or what Oh my. This is an epic prank by Jim Every single thing on Dwight's desk is wrapped in Christmas wrapping paper. Including his chair. Yeah, When did Jim do this? How long did it take? What the heck I have so much to share about this. Oh, go. All right First of all Justin Spitzer told me This was his idea. This was his pitch. He said that he was always talking to his friends who worked in the corporate world, and he would ask them, what sort of pranks going on in your office? Because I think at a certain point, it started to stress out the writers that they had to come up with these Jim Dwight pranks. So they were always fishing, Tell me a prank. I need an office prank He said that the single most mentioned prank was this idea of wrapping someone's desk in paper or aluminum foil So Justin pitched this idea We got so much mail from people asking, how did we pull this off I reached out to Randy Cordre. Oh, Randy He shared all the details. Of course he did. And then he probably did a deep dive for you on something random. He did. Aust than. Okay So First of all, he said there was a note in the script that did not make it into the episode, and it was a gym talking head. and here's how it went Jim says Actually, it took me about a week to recreate the desk and chair in chicken wire I had to come in about four hours early and set it all up And I think I pulled something in my back dragging Dwight's real desk all the way up to the roof All for a three second payoff Totally worth it I read that too, and I was like, why why do you have to take the desk up to the roof? Why couldn't you just stash it in the warehouse? I swear I remember us filming a tag of Dwight working up on the roof. Oh my gosh. I swear we did. I can't confirm it, but I feel like I remember you know, you're walking from your trailer to hair and makeup, and you're like, why are they putting a desk on the roof I have a hazy memory of this What else did Randy say? All right. So Randy also said that Greg Daniels was pretty insistent that the gag desk be made out of chicken wire because that's what it said in the script Oh, and he wanted it exactly like that. Yeah, because we sort of Jim has this whole speech. He's like it needs to reflect what Jim said. But chicken wire is stronger than you think Oh yes, it is. rightight? It wouldn't have collapsed Nope It wouldn'tvenge Did they make one with chicken wire and it didn't work? Yes. Oh my gosh. So Randy said that he and Paul Feg and our set designer Michael Gallenberg and our first AD Kelly Cantley all tried to talk Greg out of this. They were very skeptical it would work But Greg really needed to see it for himself. Okay. So here's what they did I built four different desks out of four different materials What were the materials? One of them was chicken wire. Okay. One was styrofoam.. One was balsawood And one was corrugated cardboard And then they meticulously gift wrapped all of them. Oh, oh, can I guess? can I guess which one worked the best Yeah. what do you guys think? I wish we could hear what you think out there I think the cardboard the corrugated cardboard. That's what I would bet on All right At the end, I'll tell you which one it was. Okay, o. so they set up one of the desks. Yeah And then they asked our stand in, Stehven Soos. come in and Dew Dwight's motion of walking in, setittting the briefcase down, and sitting down to see what would happen. Now, there's four different types of desks and four different types of chairs. Yes Wow. And Stehven is going to try each one. while all these people watch him. Oh my gosh, what'd you do at work today, h? Well I sat on a fakey desk made out of Christmas wrapping. I have to say, I was fascinated by the backstory of this because as actors, we just showed up, there was a wrapped desk, we did the scene. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. This was like, look at all the prep that went into this one little bit. Oh my gosh I was so fascinated by this idea of being a tester that I reached out to Stehven Soos to ask him What was this day like for you? And lady, he sent in an audio clip. I got, amazing. We have to hear it. Okay, play it I vividly remember this test. I didn't do a lot of tests like this So it really stands out. I think we were all excited to see this cold open, you know come to be because It read so funny in the script, but I think would to remember the pressure that that you have trying to make something like this a reality. You know, the whole idea probably seemed kind of easy on paper, but it was really up to the set designer Michael Gallenberg and his team to make it a reality. Like I said, I would do I would do tests. but they were mainly hair and makeup tests or you know, a lot of camera tests. I don't remember one quite like this So I walk into the bullpen and there's a lot of people there Greg Daniels was there, the director Paul Feigue. Randy Cordre, our first assistant director, Kelly Cantley, of course, Michael Gallenberg and then Phil Shehay in the prop department as well And what I saw was just like what you see in the episode, it just looked like a desk wrapped in wrapping paper But as soon as I walked in, it was made clear to me that I should not touch the desk. Like don't really go near the desk until We're going to do the test I mean, specific instructions, and it was told to everybody that Just keep clear of the desk. Don't touch this thing. It was there like They're only prototype. And so I kind of imagined underneath the Wrapping paper, like it was some kind of house of cards or something just read a ady to fall. So I didn't even want to like breathe on it because I just was thinking in my mind, what if I knock this thing over in front of everybody before we even do the test. I that would be like a total nightmare But then they were ready to do it and Pps department gave me the briefcase, which had something inside of it, and they were to give it some weight And so They said go, so I threw the briefcase on the desk, sat in the chair, and I totally expected that I would fall like right to the ground to be honest, the chair felt kind of like like a regular office chair, maybe like an old office chair that kind of semi reclined and collapsed a little, but it still was fully supporting me. And the desk just kind of bent a little bit They look like a saggy like rope bridge or something with the briefcase on top of it Obviously there was major disappointment in the room. I mean, just everyone looked at it with just such disappointment and the air just kind of like left the room. and Be the only one there that didn't really know it was everything that was going on, I kind of felt like I had messed up or something. So it was very awkward moment. got up off the chair and I remember standing next to Michael Gallenberg and kind of putting my hand to my chin and looking at the props that didn't work and just kind of, o, that didn't work. Oh, that's too bad. You know, like kind of try to fit in And so it' very memorable moment, but then they u brought another desk out like a few minutes later they had everyveryone leave so they can reset And this one is the one that worked. It's the prototype that ended up making it as the final one and it just collapsed. I mean, I hit the ground pretty hard and it kind of surprised me because of the first when and how it was made But it was pretty memorable Isn't that such a fascinating like look into behind the scenes? Yeah, making a show? Yeah I mean, We obviously weren't there that day, right? Right. So we had no idea all of these Dk being made and all of these like test runs and Stehven, oh my gosh So Randy said that the desk that worked was made out of styrofoam But here's the thing, it sounds like they only did two tests. They did chicken wire didn't work. They did styrofoam. it worked. So they stopped. Yeah. so lady, maybe the corrugated cardboard would have worked. We don't know. Okay. Okay. You could be right. I could be right, but boy, the styrofoam, man, it went down And then finally, Randy told me when it was time to shoot, they made three desks out of the styrofoam that they had ready to go, but that rain Nailed it on the first take so we didn't even need any of the other backups. It was a one taker It's amazing. Well Pil Sheha was really busy this episode He had to make so many props. The desk obviously was the biggest one. Oh yeah, but we have more to share Princess Unicorn. Princess Unicorn, but there's more. What else? Oh, you've got a whole thing. I've got some stuff. Oh, good stuff. All right, let's get into the episode. All that was just the cold open. I know Well, the episode starts with you really are getting a view of the bullpin and how it's decorated. Phyllis is going around and sort of doing last touches, right? Yes. Where did the budget for this come from say she dug into some Bob Vance cash because this is An over the top party. A, that is such a good point, Angela. Well, she has a talking head that she says the theme for her Christmas party is called Nights in Morocco I love a party with a theme. I know I get really excited. I mean, my fiftieth birthday, my theme was humummingbirds and we all painted hummingbirds and I had little pink hummingbirds, like garland hanging in the bushes. It was amazing. I love a theme Well, Pyllis does too. And did you notice that Phyllis has on brand new glasses for this episode No. Yes. And we talked about it in the DVD commentary and Kate said, Anne, do you remember they were called her power glasses What I And because Phyllis is like the head of the PPC, she's like a boss lady, they wanted her look to reflect that. Oh, I love this detail. Yes, and Phil She brought a bunch of glasses to Phyllis. They picked out this particular pair, and they even put her prescription in them. So Pyllis and her power glasses are going to take Angela to task Well, her standoff with Angela starts right away She marches over to Angela's desk and she just zeroes right in on that nativity scene Yeah she like just sweeps half of it into the drawer Baby Jesus went into the drawer. sureure did. Angel's not happy. I have a background catch At one minute, fifty seconds. Did you see what was on the dry eraceboard It was fuzzy. Okay, well, I zoomed in on it And this was so fascinating to me. On the calendar, it says Dcember tenth, cop your maintenance Which just made me laugh so hard because the office got new chairs, but that same old copee are still there And then it said on december twenty third, the warehouse is closed And at noon on december twenty fourth, Dundra Miflin closes and the party starts at one So we're having a party on Christmas Eve at one o'clock. That's what it said on the dry eracebard. So I was like Everyone's there on Christmas Eve. So later in the episode, when Michael is dragging Meredith into a rehab center, it's Christmas Eve. According to the dry erace booard. I don't know if that's what the writers intended, but that really got me tickled. phone to pick with Phllis becausecause Phllis says that Angela's nativity scene is not on theme It's not Kights of Morocco. right? Well, what about the fact that Michael has on his Christmas tie that he has worn every single Christmas Right Ham has on a pin on her sweater of Santa Oh Phllis has a little wreath on her jacket So I feel like Philllis is singling Angela out. I think all that evidence is really good. I also think it's really obvious that she's Singling Angela out. I think the entire party was thrown to piss off Angela. I know, I know. And then these little details, I guess, are just little jabs. Little digs. I mean, she makes Angela get rid of the Christmas tree Oh, lady. All right, I have to share about this because In the episode, it's like three seconds, right? Yeah This was a huge scene. This was like multiple location scenes you guys. It took like a half of a day Yes In the script And we actually did film this and it's in deleted scenes. Angela Martin goes over to the tree. It's double her size And she has to drag it through the bullpin Lady, I tripped over those pillows on the floor and the tree fell on my head. What fell to the ground, the tree fell on top of me. Then I had to drag it down the stairwell This Christmas tree out the building through the parking lot, the way to the street. We foundilmed all of that It legitimately was a physical workout I actually like messed up my hair. I had like scratches on like my hands from the tree trying to grip it. None of it's in the episode. It's in the deleted scenes. And what was great is over all of this action were two talking heads, one Angela and one Phyllis Can you play those I do not mind doing hard labor Ronald Reagan got his start as a stock boy, lugging heavy boxes ten hours a day. D. And he went on to become the president of a party planning committee I like to call the United States of America But most people call it that Did you know that an ant can carry five times its own weight? All it needs is a strong queen to tell it what to do, and there's nothing that little creature can't accomplish Phillis. I am. Oh Fhill isit her power glasses and some serious sass Oh Yes, that muffled sound in between was me like falling down the staircase with a Christmas tree Were you so bummed when you watched the episode and it was cut out? I was so bummed because I thought it was hilarious. And that talking head I do about Ronald Reagan, my hair is all messed up All right, so Philche has tackled a sttyrofoam desk chair, all objects wrapped in Christmas wrapping He's also found Phyllis a pair of power glasses. Phil Shay's next project would have been Princess Unicorn Yes Dwite enters with a stack of boxes And he explains that each year he researches the most popular toy of the holiday season He buys as much of it as he can And then as parents become more desperate He sells them at a profit. It's a little bit genius We got a lot of mail asking about this Princess unicorn storyline. Okay, Where to begin? First of all, this was a collaboration of several writers Justin said that they had originally written a different story for Dwight and at the last minute, they wanted to change it And they had a new writer who had just started on the show that week named Halstead Sullivan. This was his pitch. Halsteed, amazing. Cushing it in his first week on the job. We were able to get in touch with Halstead. He confirmed, yes that he pitched this idea of Dwight having a side hustle of buying up these holiday toys and selling them at a profit Paulstead said that he and writer Eron Shher were sent into a room to figure out what this toy should be Aron said, Well, kids love princesses and unicorns. how about a princess unicorn doll? I love this kind of collaboration. So you have Halsteed saying, We need the story of the toy and he sells the toys. And then Aaron is like, what about a unicorn and a doll collide? Yes Then Halstead came up with the catchphrase, My horn can pierce the sky. Halsteed, are you kidding me? Right? That was you. That stuck in our heads forever ever Do you remember that, Jenna? But we sang it all week. We have to hear Michael sing it My horn can pierce the sky And then Jenna, when I listened to the DVD commentary, immediately Kate and I sang it. What? Hy bn can pierce the sky Thank you Alstead. Well, you know, they made a whole commercial for this doll. with a little girl And a jingle at the end It was crazy. What else did they say about it They said, actually before settling on this idea, there was an alternate idea called Hank Grenade This was a doll that when you threw it, his arms Blew off That was Hank Grenade But they settled on Princess Unicorn So once that was settled, there was a lot of discussion over what she should look like Was she a human princess with unicorn features? Was she more of a horse with a human face? I guess they went around and around In the end Phil Shay had to make this Princess unicorn doll. Randy told me that Phil actually used a team of designers and toy makers. Oh my go. And they had to come up with a design that would not infringe on anyone else's design because I guess Toys in general and dolls specifically are very tightly controlled by the manufacturers. Right their intellectual property rights. Yeah, it can't look like anything else. Yes. And they actually had to go through the NBC Universal legal team to make sure that they had met all the requirements of a specifically unique doll toy. That is how we came to have a princess unicorn Amazing Tilhe was so busy this episode. So busy. Oh my gosh When we would see him running through the parking lot, this is why I don't know how he did it. I know. Well, the party's underway now. It's getting going. There's cocktails Jim and Pam have this flirty moment with like he's rubbing the lamp for wishes. Well, this scene made me curious, and I had also been watching the bloopers and there's this moment between Ed and John and the bloopers That never made it into the episode. That's kind of weird where Jim is looking at this coffee mug that Andy made. Okay. I was like, what is the thing? What are they? What are Jim and Pam doing So I was very curious about these scenes and I went to the script and in the shooting draft There is a Jim and Pam side by side talking head where they share that they are in a real financial bind Oh. Yeah And they have agreed not to buy each other anything for Christmas, but instead will be taking items from the Dundndermifflin office to give to each other Whoa, yeah, there were all these little scenes of you guys like showing each other different items around the office. And then there was a whole scene where you ultimately decided on something and gave each other gifts. What did I get? I don't remember any of this. Wait before I tell you what you got, can I just tell you some of the moments in this side by side talking head that I couldn't believe All right. Jem shares that money's tight because of the closing fees on the house that he bought. Okay. Pam shares, get ready Tp says My credit's so bad, I'm hoping someone steals my identity They couldn't handle my finances worse than me. No. Okay. Oops. Yeah. And Jim says it's okay. We've decided not to spend any money on presents this year The rule is the gift has to be something from inside the office. Okay And Pam says, so in addition to the party, we're going to spend the day shopping And if anyone's interested, my social security number is seven nine three four seven six eight eight two What is Pam running up her credit on? I don't know. P am buying, M maybe she charged all of art school. put it all on her card. Maybe she did Well, do you want tona hear what they gave each other? Yeah, what did I get? After a whole party of them looking at items in the office. Okay to I guess steal? I don't know. What is their life of crime together All right, at the end of the day, Pam hands Jim a gift. Wrapped in copier paper And he opens it up and it's a pair of sunglasses that she has made out of paper clips and brown plastic from a folder So wait, Phil Shee had to make that too. Yes He had to make sunglasses made out of papercips and brown plastic And gys like sunglasses and they even have little pads for my nose They had little erasers where the nose would go I have to stop you.. Is this in the deleted scenes? Can you screen grab these sunglasses and put them on the pod? No, it's not Ah, that's a tragedy. I know, I know. because you know they exist somewhere Pam says It took me hours to make them But don't use them outside because there's no UV protection. Okay. And then Jim hands her a box and she opens it to reveal a beautiful dainty watch And she's like, wait, you didn't make this. You bought it, no fair And Jim says, okay, here's the thing. technically I had this in the office. I bought it for you three years ago But it was way too big and I chickened out And Pam says, Yeahah, it kind of screams I love you And Jim's like, do you like it? And she says, I love it Wait Was that the year you gave me rocks Jimes says wishing rocks also romantic. Oh my gosh, I love this. So you and John had this whole storyline that was playing out in the background that ended in the scene and it didn't make it in Do you want to hear something crazy? While I was prepping Moroccan Christmas, I was cleaning out my desk At home, at home and I found Pot no Good L Are you kidding? the actual note The note that John gave me at the end. Oh man And the envelope says Pam. And it's a little Christmas card. It was in with like all of my like stationary and stuff, right? I'm like going through my stationerary and I'm like, what's this? What's this card? This s is PM I opened it up and I was like, the Tapper. I love that that's what you found Is that crazy? Yeah, it is crazy, but you know what's so perfect is when I cleaned out my desk, if you remember, Jenna, I found this was like years ago. I found Dwight and Angela's like sex contract punch card. Oh boy, our characters had different different days. Okay. All right, so I had to share that because I thought that was a wonderful Jy Pamp thing that didn't get to be in the episode But now we really need to talk about these drinks that Michael is making for Meredith. The first drink Michael makes Meredith, he calls it A one of everything. It's equal parts Scotch, absinthe, rum, gin, verermmouth, tririple sec, and two packs of spplenda Isn't some of this drink a Long Island iced tea minus the Splenda? I don't know. Am I wrong? I don't know what's in Long Island I ced tea. I just know it's like seven liquors. Yeah Well Yeahah Well, Meredith thinks this is the best thing she's ever had in her life. Oh yeah. Then Michael makes Gem a drink with vodkin orange juice. Not a screwdriver guys. It's called a orange vagjuska It rolls off the tongue. It does. But there was an alt in the script. Okaykay In the script, Michael makes Jim A drink with Jack Daniels and just regular Coca Cola And he calls it a Coke Daniels shared that in one scene with Steve, they were improvising, okay, Steve was making up all these drinks and Steve improvised Sangria with peppermint schchnops, and Kate improvised, let's call it Scks on the couch. And Steve as Michael was like, ew, but that didn't make it in And then Kate also shared, A you ready for this? He hands her a drink in one take. She takes a big swig and goes, Oh my God, you guys, there's real booze in that They had forgotten to empty out one of the bottles because they would empty out the liquor bottles and put just water or iced tea Yeah. And they had missed one. And they gave Kate a drink with actual booze in it. She was like, guys, that's booze I think she only took one swig, you know what I mean? Still. What a shocker.. Also during this setup of the party, I want to point out This episode had a lot of shots that were just like littleittle moments, right? It really reminded me of some of our early episodes where we had these What did we used to call those? Just these little vignettes in the background. Yeah, Th little moments that the B camera would get that really filled in the whole picture. It really reminds me of the first two seasons. Same. Well, during this kind of montage of filling out the party and what's going on, you know, Ed as Andy is playing the sitar. Yes. We got a lot of mail about it Izzy T, Liam D, and Grant S all wrotde in to ask, doeses Ed Helmes really play the sitar? Now. Not before this episode, he didn't But he's such a badass that he just picked it right up Yeah. So you guys probably know that Ed plays guitar, he plays banjo Randy told me that previously in his career, he had produced a different show where they needed an actor to play a song on the citar And this actor was also a guitar player But He was told that the sitar is a very difficult instrument to play. It's very difficult to tune properly and that in that instance on that other show, he had to hire a tutor and allow about four weeks of practice so that this actor could credibly pull off the bit. So Because the script had Ed playing all these different songs with only a couple weeks notice He asked Phil Shay to rent a citar. He went to Ed. He said, I'll get you a tutor. Yeah. But Ed said I'll figure it out And Randy was like Okay Ed's like, I play the banjo. I'm gonna flex a little bit. Hello this Totally, totally did it He just picked it up and played it. Yes I have a little catch where Ed slipped up What? So You guys listening, my family and my close friends, they call me Ange. It's my nickname and my family And it's like what my husband calls me and my mom, you know, everyone calls meange E called me Ange, right? in real life. Yeah. He never called me Angela And right when he starts playing the guitar at four minutes, twenty one seconds, tell me what you hear B. And check it out This is a place in France where the naky ladies d. Oh He called me Ange. Not Angela And Angela Martin would have never let Andy call her Ange. Anyone call her An? No. She's using the formal version of her name only. Only For sure. Only Dwight can call her Monkey. Everyone else calls her Angela. in that moment, to me Ed just sort of slipped and just was like, Hey, Anunt. He was probably like concentrating on his playing. Yeah, right? He was in musician mode. Yeah. that just warmed my heart when I heard it. I just had to share. Well, next up is quite a scene Meredith is dancing up a storm in the conference room And she sets her hair on fire. Yes. Dwight has to rush in and put it out with a fire extinguisher Oh, lady talk about mle, people need to know how did they pull off this stunt, where her hair catches on fire Was it Kate? Was it a stunt double? We have a lot to share with you because this is one of the biggest stunts I think we ever did in the bullpin. For sure. For sure. A person was on fire. Yeah All right, well I got some of the info from Randy and I got info from Kate. so let's break it down First of all, we did use a stunt double for Kate. Her name was Marie Fink Our stunt coordinator that day was Scott Aliva And he had to like do a bunch of prep for this. He had to like send a whole plan into NBC Universal Safety Department explaining how exactly we would do this safely. We had safety officers on set We had a special effects crew on set and we had the LA Fire Department on set. Kate said there were so many people from the fire department there that they like took up a whole wall. I believe it. Yeah. What a crazy day of work for them Now Paul Fig specifically staged this scene so that Meredith was dancing alone in the conference room and this was done to make it safer. Yes And they dressed the stunt Double Marie in this full fireproof bodysuit. It's called like a Nomex And she wore like a head stocking that was flame proof And then she put on Kate's wardrobe. I guess these noomech suits are what race car drivers wear. When they're racing, you know, in case their car burst into flames. Yeah Then Kim Fairry. hadad to create a bunch of wigs. Yes. And Kate shared about these wigs, you guys Kate said Ange, they were natural hair. and then they actually burned the wigs with fire. And she said I had to wear the stinkiest wig the whole rest of the week because you know when you burn hair, you know the smell. Oh, I know it well. I mean, it's once you've smelled that, it's like burned into your brain. Yes. so Kate had to wear the stinky wig the rest of the week. Well, I guess to pull off this stunt. They put this flammable gel. all over Marie's body and her H And then She used one of the actual real candles in the conference room to set her hair on fire. I guess they did have a stunt double Dressed as Dwight, his name was Sean Crowder But in the end it was actually rain. Rain ran in put out the stunt double with an actual fire extinguisher. I know, no pressure, Rin, right? But Kate said he did it. And then Kate said for continuity, they had to take Marie out And Kate stepped back in with the burnt wig, right? The smelly burnt The smelly burnt wig kind of assumed the same position Marie was in. and then Rne had to spray Kate with the real fire extinguisher. So Kate got hosed as well Justin told me that we did it all in one take I'm so glad for everyone's sake. Yeah. I'm so glad. Also, look at Kate's dancing. This is like lunging forward and back Forward and back and I'm like Kate were you sore? my gosh. That's like a physical day. Randy told me that Kate and Marie got together and planned out the dance moves so that Marie could look exactly like Kate in her movements. Yes. Which is amazing to me because it looks like completely spontaneous dancing, but they really planned it so that it would So they were doing the same thing. Yes. And if you watch the episode, it's very rare that only one person is in the conference room at a party That was for everyone's safety, like you said. Yeah. Kate said it was kind of, you know, odd to be in there alone for all those takes like a fish bowl But I really related because there's a whole scene coming up where you guys are all together on the floor and I'm in the kitchen. know. For the whole episode. I know Lady, I think we should take a little break And then we'll come back and make you go to the kitchen. Make me go to the kitchen and Michael is going to share with us about a responsibilityee It w It's a deleted scene. I can't wait to share So we are back Oscar, you have a little bit of granola on your boob. Oh. thans for telling me. We ate a granola bar during the break You're eating it off your shirt What else would I do? If I pick it off, I have to wet throw it on the floor. Now put in the trash Well, you hungry. You'd fit in very well with my boys Listen, we're friends here. I've seen l them eat things off their clothing too. my God Listen, every once in a while You're gonna lick a piece of granola bar off. You What else'm gonna do sometimes. Sometimes the salad dressing is so good. I lick the plate. Okay, I'm here for licking the plate, but you just ate a piece of granola off your t shirt. You lifted your shirt towards you so you could eat that tiny piece of granola. because I'm a classy lady. You are classy, and you know what? you do not waste and that I respect. Thank you. Okay. As I was saying, Oscar, Jim, Michael, and Stanley Try to set a date. for something. We don't know what they're talking about. They're trying to agree on a time to do something Nothing's working We do learn that Michael goes to the dentist every month. Well because of his soft teeth. Every month. We established that dinner party. I feel like he talks their ear off. I feel like there's like a dental hygienist that he just talks their ear off What do you do for soft teeth? You know what? I'm going ask Mike Dennis the next time I'm there. He's a fan of the show. He's also a bread maker And he gave me his sourdough discard and it is fantastic. Sourdough discard. Wow Great dentist. Okay. Great Baker. I'm gonna ask him about soft teeth. stay tuned. Baker and a dentist Listen, they also can't do it onn Ground hog Day because Michael, he celebrates privately. Some fans asked Justin in an interview once, what is it that Michael's doing And he said, I imagine he just watches Groundhog Day all day mov He watches the movie. And I also think he watches to see if Punk Satoni is it Punk Satoni? Phil? Yeah I think he watches to see if Phil sees the shadow. I think he watches the whole broadcast Big event. Maybe he goes. He's busy. That's what we know Yeah In the end, they decide today is the day And what they're planning is an intervention. Christmas Eve office party intertervention Listen, if I had to explain what an intervention is, it's like a surprise party For people who have addictions, and what you do is you make them feel badly about themselves so they stop Michael Scott right there guysy for Michael Scott. That was the talking head that made it into the show. Here is an alt. that got deleted and it to me up. We're gonna to call this responsibility you guys It takes a lot of courage to admit you are right And Talking about my strengths has always been one of my strengths And I am right Meredith needs help She needs help like an alcoholic needs a drink. and She's about to get a big shot of Michael Scott straight up on the rocks with ice. No chaser. I call it a responsibility,ie shaken with lemon, twist the lime. Okay Okay We've played a lot of talking heads that didn't make it. a lot of scenes that didn't make it in the show This is the biggest tragedy. A responsibility, teeny. Everything about that was gold I could listen to it five times. I know. I was like, I have to play it. This is gold. That was like on the level of Dwight's whole speech about stealing the ball from Tiffany's and going to all the countries and all that Oh my Godd. It was so good You gonna to get a big shot of Michael Scott. Oh shaken, not stirred responsibility me. That's incredible Well, we're all gonna to circle up on the floor now Not Angela, though. Phyllis has other plans for you. It involves a hairnet Uh huh Lots of fanning, got to fan some pitas, G toast them on both sides, Ga fan napkins. Yeah And off to the kitchen I go Meanwhile, the rest of us sit on the floor and engage in a real uncomfortable intervention of Meredith I don't know how you guys got through the scene without laughing I remember two things happening during this week. One, I was bombed because I was in the kitchen by myself. Yeah. And I had to enter in during the scene. So it's not like I had to be there Do you remember this? Because Justin reminded me of this and I had forgotten it, which was that Paul Feue insisted on shooting the entire intervention scene top to bottom without cutting and every take was about eight minutes long. Yes. So I would be in the kitchen like with a magazine. I actually on the DVD commentary, I said I brought a magazine back there eventually because I was back there so long And then they would cheue me and then I would walk in, then I'd have to go back So crazy. so crazy. I remember my legs fell asleep It's very hard to sit on the floor in a pencil skirt and pantyhose. Well, you had to do an odd cross. You had to do that one foot under the other and at nine minutes, forty six seconds, there's a real good pam pantyhose catch Oh yeah. I can see your panty hose I don't doubt it.. You have pantyhose toes I remember trying to figure out ' you know, once you pick the way you're sitting, you have to sit like that. You can't shift and move or change your position. Be because it has to match you guys. So however you sit, that's it. So Mindy laying on her stomach like that. I was so jealous. whichich I took a picture of I was jealous at first, but then you know her back started to ach. It had to because that's like doing a what is that the cow? No, it's not a cow It's the snake. It's a yoga thing. Oh yeah, what's that yoga pose called? Where you you are' Cobra. Cobra I knew it nothing why that was so exciting. But I just recalling any information at my age just gets me real amampped up So she had to do a mini Cobra all day. You had to sit with the one foot under your butt One foot extended. Yep I know. And I do remember that we went around. and you know, I was mostly reactions. I don't think I had any lines in this scene. It was very hard not to laugh It was very hard not to laugh Creed says that he can get a fire permit in a couple hours It was pretty amazing. We talked on the DVD commentary about Creed's outfit. And what he's wearing in this scene, he actually wore something similar to an awards show. Do you remember? he wore the long white This is very much sort of his outfit is something Creed would actually wear. And he looks fantastic. There is a delicious Andy talking head I feel like we all knew this guy in college, the guy that would chug a fifth of soko. Uh huh. boot Rally. How many nicknames does he have, by the way? He's Puke, He's ace and he's Buzz. Did he get straight As or straight Bs? We're not sure straight beast. Yeah, but he aced everything. Yeah Well, surprise, surprise, this intervention does not result in Meredith deciding to go to rehab Michael's clearly not qualified to do this and Toby's gonna to call it. He's like, you know what We're gonna to stop this. I do have to point out one of my favorite moments when Kevin offers his way that her drinking affected him. He got to go to the movies. By the way, thank you, he says. Yeah. Michael's like you're not getting it But you're right, Michael is not trained to do this You know, a trained interventionist. This is a job in real life. People train for this. Yeah. Kate had a whole speech that was in the script as Meredith. where she just addresses the group and she's like, listen ored, You're boring. She said to Michael. And he goes, Hey. And she was like, you know what? I drink 'cause I'm bored. Try to be more interesting . And she's like, who else is bored here? And like everyone raises their hands. She like hijacks the meeting from Michael, right? And then she's like, we all do things to cope. So I drink when I'm bored. And then she goes around the room. She goes, you all have coping mechanisms. You eat, you eat, you eat, you shop, you confuse dwight And then she's fusest white. She me, No me. Oh okay And then she like points at Stanley and she's like, you eat. And then Stanley has a talking head where he's like I do eat when I'm bored, but I also drink and I drink a lot more than Meredith. I just don't do it at work and I keep my clothes on Y yes, the scene was way bigger Wow Michael is going to take Meredith into his office where they're gonna to talk for forty five minutes. Fty five minutes. And in the meantime Angela is going to plead with Phyllis. Please, can I stop cutting the pita Do I really have to wear the hair net? Have mercy. It's the season of mercy Phyllas s no. No I have a thing I want to point out teen minutes, thirty five seconds Phyllis is telling Stanley about the Moroccan food they're eating. And Angel's eating this cookie. She spits it out. Yeah. We did a lot of takes of this. I'm not sure why. Okay The cookie started to turn on me because I took a big bite. Okaykay? Mistake. Okaykay. Take a small bite guys. Always, Al becausecause by the eighth take The thought of that cookie makes you want to barf, right And It doesn't matter what it is It doesn't matter if it's your favorite dessert And it started to turn on me. and so I took some peanuts and I stuck them in my hand When they would cut to me eating, I would like just put a bunch of the peanuts in my mouth and hold the cookie I was I was trying to do a fakey eat Hmm Fakey eat. Fakey eat and then I would spit out peanuts instead of the cookie. Okay. So what we see on camera, that is chewed up peanuts? We don't know. We don't know which take they e. We don't know which take was early was it late? I don't know. These are the things you try to do at work. How do I not eat that cookie? Well, when Michael leaves his office with Meredith They're going somewhere. He says, I'll meet you in the parking lot. And then he asks Toby for the number of that rehabilitation center And everyone's like, wow, he did it And then you know H He finishes writing the number down and he throws the pen at Toby's head and hits him in the forehead We had a fan question about that. Well, we have stories about it too Kelsey B would like to know, was the pen throwing scripted or improvised It was scripted and Justin said Steve had a special rubber pen and I remember it because It was in the Pen cup on Pam's desk There were real pens and then one fakey pen. And I was sitting there and I kept like Pitioning the pen so that Steve could pick up the fakey pen. This would have been another thing Phil Shee would have had to have gotten for the episode Saky rubber pen so that he could throw it at Toby's head. They inserted that little thump sound later We did about four or five takes of it, I guess. You guys, if you rewatch this, you will notice behind Michael, there are no people. We're all standing way off to the right. Yep. You want to know why because we couldn't stop laughing So when they would cut to Michael after throwing it, we'd behind him giggling. So they pushed us all to the right and they had to get our reaction take like a whole beat later when we had gotten our composure Paul also couldn't stop laughing. I know. Every time that little rubber pen thumped him in the forehead, he would break. I know. And there is such a fun blooper where Paul decided to prank Steve during this scene. We have to listen to it Could you write down the name of that rehabilitation clinic you mentioned F I impressed don that's sp. What say was say. What did he do? Instead of writing down a fake phone number, he wrote you. So Steve in the scene glances down and it says and he started laughing and he couldn't even throw the pen because he was laughing too hard. That is so funny Well, have you know, Fakey Pen lived in the pen cup for weeks after we shot the scene and people were always coming over trying to grab a pen to use and they would get Fakey rubber pen And I never got rid of it because it just was funny to me. Yeah. It' funny to me that people would grab Fakey pen So now Meredith and Michael are in the car. This is gonna to start such a fantastic sequence between Meredith and Michael. Both Steve and Kate just knock it out of the park They're driving, Meredidith thinks they're going to a bar She's listing off all these bars and Kate Flannery said in real life, she kept trying to slip her family's bar in there. because you know, her family owned a bar in Philadelphia called Flannery's. Yep, but it didn't make it in All the other bars she says are local scranton bars. They're real places. Yeah, well, that was part of the reasons why flanoreys wouldn't have checked out, right But she also wanted you guys to know that Steve did his own driving. They're not being pulled. Yeah, you can kind of tell. Yeah, he's driving and doing all the dialogue because there were those little lipstick cameras. And then they had, I think, a truck in front of them with a camera rigged on the back to get them through the windshield. Well, when they finally arrive at their destination, it is revealed that they are at Sunrise rehab Meredith gets super pissed. So pissed So pissed. Now Kate told me they had stunt people there. for her and Steve. Should it get too physical that they could have this choreograph thing with the stunt people? And her and Steve were like, no, we're going to go for it. Kate was like, Steve, let's do it. and they did not use the stunt people. everythingverything you see is actually Kate and Steve, just frreaking going for it. I think I noticice one moment. we cut out of it really quickly. When Meredith throws the trash can down and it looks like Michael trips and falls, I feel like I see Kate, start to check on Steve Oh yeah. L maybe like, oh, are you okay? Like just the littest moment and we cut out of it And then they, you know, they have a bigger chase around the parking lot. Well, Kate said that's fakey trash. trash That was fakey trash. So whatever Steve fell on wasn't real trash. So Phil Shee also had to make fakey trash. Yes. Oh my gosh, this man's week was insane. Yes. This scene was scripted at the top where she doesn't want to get out of the car, but they immediately then just went off Yeah. You know, because Pul Feig just wanted them to really go for it, not worry about the lines and that whole sequence where Meredith is saying, Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. I love that. That's not in the script. I loved it It was so real. It was so real. I thought Kate did such a great job Well, this whole thing ends with Michael dragging Meredith into the rehab center And we should tell you the intake nurse was played by our very own first assistant director, Kelly Cantley. Yes. She also helps escort them out. Yeah at the end. when Michael discovers that you can't force people to go to rehab. Yep. and now awkward car ride back. But you know what Michael's gonna do? Michael's had a realization He realizes that you know, in order to get help, a person has to hit their rock bottom. So he's going to make it his mission to help Meredith reach her rock bottom Oh Oh my gosh. And he thinks he can do it because he did it with Jan Oh my goh, like an amazing life There's still going to be quite a bit of drama back at the office. Oh, yes. We start with Toby. Hoby man, he thinks he's going to get to be the hero to his little girl. He is going to score one of the Princess Unicorn dolls from Dwight for his daughter But Dwright has sold them all out.. He just sold his last one To Dararyl. Yes All right I just unsolicited get this email from Jen Slada. About this scene? About this scene and this episode I guess the writers like Justin and Halsteed and Aron, they were all texting each other about this storyline. and somehow Jen got involved. This email pops in my inbox yesterday. She's like, Jenna, we've all been texting to about the Princess unicorn because you asked about it. Yeah. Okay. And she was like I have a story and I asked Paul if I could share it Okay I was like, o, I'm so intrigued She made an audio clip. Here it is. Oh my gosh There was a moment that happened behind the scenes of Moroccan Christmas where Paul and I were working on a script together. I'm not sure if it was the fifth season finale or what, but we were kind of under the gun, I remember when we were writing, and he had to go down on set and shoot a scene as Toby. And then when he came back up, we needed to push forward on the script. And I remember that he was sitting on the couch and he was like, oh, I think I just screwed up that scene that I shot I was like didn't, I'm sure you didn't, D're being hard on yourself. He's like, No, no, I really think I screwed it up. And he was kind of stuck on it and wast very typical of him. So I was like, tellell me what happened. And he said, well I was supposed to be upset and sad because I wanted this prrincess unicorn doll for my daughter and Darl wanted the doll for his daughter. and I needed to be really sad. And so I thought of what you know Steve might do or what I thought Jenna might do, which she think of something sad that happened in real life to them and something that like triggered these sad feelings and sad emotions and kind of be in that place and use it for the scene. And I said, Well, it sounds smart. How to go? And he said, Well, I didn't do that. And I asked him why. and he said, Well, I thought about getting sad, but it didn't seem worth it. And I remember laughing at that being like I'm pretty sure you just made the decision not to act. I think that's what just happened in that moment. I remember watching that scene later and thinking, it was such a perfectly Toby choice. It was a great scene. And I feel like when you're Toby and you're going about the world and Michael's always making you feel put upon and all this stuff, you can't constantly keep getting sad. So it ended up being a very veryery wonderful choice that I think he made. But in the moment, I think he pretty much decided he wasn't gonna to act because he didn't want to be sad that day. and I'll never forget that. I loved it Jen was so excited to tell me this story. She was like, I have to give him grief and I guess they together and they were laughing about it and Paul was like, yeah, you can share. You can share that it's true. I don't want to be sad. Dig too deep and actually cry in this scene because then I'm going be sad all day. I'm going to be thinking about whatever precipitated it. I love that Jen just wanted to compuls on our podcast. She was as sleep. email. It's my inbox. Oh, so funny. I agree though, when I watched the scene, like I didn't think anything of it. I was like, oh, that's perfect. Yeah. Ah, so funny. And I guess she would like give him shhiitaki about that for years to come Gosh, speaking of Sad, should we talk about the Sadest scene ever? Sadest scene ever. It all starts because Angela is done She is done with Phyllis. Well, Phllis tells her to go get the tree and bring it back. I know Phyllis and I absolutely loved this episode. We got to do so much together even more than you even see in the actual episode I can't tell you how amazing it felt as Angela Martin to turn to her and say Sut up Felt so good. and I was really proud of this scene. I thought Phyllis and I really had this perfect chemistry in this moment And then She tells everyone And she shames Angela Martin in front of the whole bullpin And when she did, I was so in the moment with her the heat of my skin, like my face started to flush. Yeah. You can see it. Everyone is looking at you everyone, you know, and We've talked about ever you had a scene where the whole bullpin focused on you, you were already heightened a little bit like your nerves And I really just Oh man, I was As the character, I felt like I couldn't get out of there fast enough. And then Andy walks in I know. and the way Ed Just You know, Ed Helmms the person, his inherent goodness and sweetheart carries through the character of Andy. I know. Well here's the thing, is Andy like Completely annoying. sure. But he's also got this boyish charm. Yeah. A boyish enthusiasm, right? Yes for singing this song to you. Yes. In the script, the song he sings is Silent Kight So Yes Mm. Randy said the morning of the shoot, they told Ed He was so scared to say it. He said, they've changed their mind, can you? Duck the Hlls? Ed had to learn a whole new song to play on the sitar. He had just learned Silent Night. Yes, he'd had that thing for a couple weeks and he'd been fiddling around on it. And then they were like, can you do deck the halls? Randy told me it took him about a minute and a half to figure it out. because he's amazing. He's a musical genius They thought it would be funny the juxtaposition of this sort of very crringy moment for Andy to be playing this upbeat song. And you know he improvised the Riddid it to do at the end. I know. So good all just staring at him And Ed played the moment so perfectly. My heart completely broke for Andy. I felt so bad for him And I started to cry. Like actually crying. Yeah A, I actually cry. If you look at this, it pushes in on my face And I'm completely tearing up Those are those moments as an actor where you have so inhabited your character's story and the story of the people around you whereere your body, like you didn't even have to make yourself cry or think of something sad. You were just so in the moment that the emotions just flood. No, really, really. And everyone was playing it so real. Paul Feig told us to like he said when we come around with that B camera and this was similar to his direction in Office Olympics He said, I don't want you to comment on it you know, no kind of funny looks or anything. Like this is like Tuly a human moment and just stand there Be in it. There' great direction And you felt it Yeah You felt felt heavy. It felt really heavy and I felt Horrible. And I started to cry you know, in re watchatching it all I just thought This episode was written and directed and acted So, so well. I was really proud of us as a show. You know what, Angela, this was what Paul Feue could do for us You know, like he was really good at directing us to allow these moments to breathe, and you're so good in this. Oh thanks, L. We're so good in this whole episode and this moment at the end It is more powerful because it's real Yeah, you really nailed it. Thanks so much, lady. Thank you. And I thought Kate Flannery crushed this episode too. Same. And you know guys, the supporting cast These moments were fewer and far between for us. And so when they happened, we just treasured it and it was so fun to rewatch it. And you guys would get these scripts with no notice and you'd have to just step up to the plate and suddenly carry an episode And y always did it because we had a really great bench on our show. We had a deep bench, y'all. We did Well, that is Moroccan Christmas. We did it. We did it. We all hope you'll have a little responsibilityi in your life. Yeah, and just want to give a few thanks to Justin Spitzer, Aron Shure, Halstad Sullivan, Jen Slota, Randy Cordre, and Stehven Soos. Remember, you can find Stehven and his wife Laorie on their podcast if we knew then And I know you traded a bunch of messages with Kate as well. Yes. Kate Flannery and James Carey because the script having the shooting draft was just amazing for this one And before we go one little tidbit we're so excited to find to share with you. Yes. We're so excited to tell you guys that we have partnered with Comedy Central and Cartoer Radio to bring you animated clips of our podcast You know, we're constantly getting mail from people saying they wish they could watch us on video. And for many reasons we won't get into now, we do not videotape our podcasts But Cartoon and Radio has taken some of the audio and they have animated it, which in my opinion is even better than watching a video. It is, you guys. They are so creative. Jen and I are now a cartoon. I love it. I love it. And they have picked these funny moments to animate. It's going to debut on Comedy Central's YouTube We'll put it in our socials so you can find it. We can't wait for you to see it. It starts tomorrow. Woo. All right guys, we will see you next week. Your horn compres the sky Thank you for listening to Office Ladies Second drrink. This episode was initially created in collaboration with Earwolf. Office Ladies is a presentation of Odyssey and is produced by Jennna Fisher and Angela Kinsey. Our senior producer is Matt Beagle. Our secondecond drrinks episodes are produced by Molly Nugent. Our audio engineer is Sam Piefer, Odyssey's executive producer is Leah Reice Dennis Office Ladies was mixed and mastered by Bill Scholz Our theme song is Rubber Tree by Craig Brad Andandora jewelry brings the sparkle to your summer. Now with even better prices, enjoy up to fifty percent offs like styles, from personalized pieces to must have favorites made for the summer Timeless designs that shine with you through every moment, wherever the summer takes you. Shop in store or online. Now through july sixth. Terms and ition apply. Visit pandora. net for details. This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. You think you know a browser, but Gemini and Chrome, that's new. It can help you with practically anything on the web, Like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a fifty page restoration block or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks. Gemini and Chrome is here for it. Ready to make anything online makes sense? There's no place like Chrome. Check responssees setup required compatibility and availability varies eighteen plus