theoffice

Here are some photos of The Office set I took on January 19, 2012. The cast and crew were filming in a different building that day, so I was able to roam freely around the bullpen! As I requested in an earlier post, I asked you guys if you had any photo requests, so I [...]

Deadline.com is reporting that The Office’s Dwight Schrute (played by Rainn Wilson) may be getting his own show as early as mid-season 2013: … the proposed spinoff is a family comedy, which was the brainchild of Wilson and The Office executive producer/showrunner Paul Lieberstein. It will have Dwight (Wilson) living at the Schrute family beet [...]

A deleted scene from The Office episode, Pool Party. From promising bachanals that never happened, to the failed attempts to rekindle an old flame, Robert’s pool party was all wet.

A fan of The Office has created a Counter Strike Source map of the Dunder Mifflin set! Says creator Blitzkrieg1981: “This easily consumed as much as 500 hours playing and pausing episodes, looking at the office tally and blue prints. I’m not the most experienced css mapper, most of the architect is based on meticulously [...]

Hulu’s The Morning After Show took a road trip with Kate Flannery to chat about how she got started on The Office, including which scene she performed during her audition!

Summary: On his way to the store to buy wood glue, Jeff (Jason Segel) looks for signs from the universe to determine his path. However, a series of comedic and unexpected events leads him to cross paths with his family (including his brother, Ed Helms) in the strangest of locations and circumstances. Starring: Jason Segel, [...]

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart recently likened an old photo of Newt Gingrich with one of The Office’s Dwight Schrute: “Why would you choose me? Because I’m mighty? Cause I’m the manliest man in the office?” What do you think?

Writer: tbd, Director: tbd Summary (NBC): Robert’s last hurrah — after Robert decides to sell his mansion following his divorce, Kevin suggests that he have an office pool party. Erin tries to make Andy jealous by flirting with Dwight. Meanwhile, Robert gives everyone a tour of his massive home. The Office Pool Party extras Video [...]

I am going to be filmed tomorrow giving a tour of The Office set! (Yes, I am super crazy excited.) I want to make sure I hit all the good stuff, so that’s where I need your help: What is your favorite part of The Office set and why?

Two preview clips of The Office episode, Pool Party, airing January 19. Jim is practiced at the art of escaping from parties. Erin tries her best to be nice to everyone – even the boss’s girlfriend. Tipster: Shay

Way, way back in 2011, I read a synopsis of the upcoming Office episode “Trivia.” It described a trivia contest taking place in a bar, involving the whole Dunder-Mifflin gang. I remember thinking to myself “Well, this will be a slam-dunk Scrantonicity.” They almost always use a real Scranton bar, like Poor Richard’s or Farley’s or Tink’s. Even though they film in California, the top-drawer prop department has always liberally peppered the set with local items plucked from the enormous “Scranton prop-drop-box.” Well… that went by the wayside, once they established the astounding premise that the whole office crew would be traveling in a car caravan on the two and a half hour sojourn to faraway Philadelphia… in the middle of wintery January… to drink in a bar, and then drive all the way home on the dark and ominous turnpike… To quote Toby, warning Michael Scott about the dangers of having Boy Scouts attend “Casino Night:”  Is that enough? Should I keep going?

 

The secondary plot of the episode didn’t bode well for Scrantonicity, either; considering it was taking place in Talahassee, Florida, home of Sabre Corporate Headquarters. OK, fine, I can adjust to that, and put on my “Talahassee-icity” hat. The prop department has never scrimped on local product placements when scenes were supposed to be taking place elsewhere; I recall reading where they badgered the city of Stamford, Connecticut for authentic props, and they made an effort with Winnipeg, Canada, and who can forget the “authentic” Sbarro Pizza in New York City? So, I was thrilled to see Dwight being dropped off in front of Sabre by a cab that was marked “Seminole Taxi Company.” There’s just one problem: I researched it, and there is no Seminole Taxi Company in Florida. That’s odd. When an Office character in Scranton comes or goes in a taxi, it has been clearly marked as a “McCarthy Flowered Cab,” complete with floral decals. (The McCarthy family started off as florists; I grew up next door to their floral shop.) It just seems strange to me that the show wouldn’t use that opportunity to “throw a bone” to loyal Florida “Office” viewers. I guess it’s just a show-biz mystery why some bones get thrown, and others don’t.

 

Back to the decision to drive all the way the heck from Scranton to Philadelphia to participate in a bar trivia contest; it seems to be one of those “compromise” decisions made in the writers’ room. They “rough-sketched” the gang going to a bar, and then they couldn’t resist the apparently “hilarious” idea of making it a gay bar. Despite the fact that a simple Google search indicates that there are gay bars located in and around the Scranton area, the writers must have felt the need to go more “cosmopolitan,” perhaps to justify the somewhat ludicrous $1000 trivia prize. So hence, they decided to hold the contest at the “Liberty Well,” a fictitious bar in “Philadelphia” where the tree outside the front door still has all its leaves in the dead of winter.

 

I started writing “Scrantonicity” because the show took such pains to make Dunder-Mifflin look and feel “authentic.” That’s very charming, and I thought all that effort should be acknowledged. There aren’t too many TV shows that have bothered to do that. (Once in a blue moon, “Frasier” would toss in a Seattle reference, usually an incorrect one.) I even manage to rationalize and forgive the writers when they include inaccuracies about the Scranton area, like the “slow train to Philly” that doesn’t exist… and the “booze cruise” on shallow Lake Wallenpaupack… and the mysterious hallucinatory sandy beach on the Lake Scranton reservoir… those shows were so well written, that I now think there really oughta be a “booze cruise” on the ‘paupack… I know I’d book a cruise! But all those disparate Dunder-Mifflin employees deciding together to undertake an arduous two-and-a-half hour road trip to a Philadelphia bar for a trivia contest in the middle of a Pennsylvania winter… Jim leaving his wife and two kids, including a newborn that nobody seems to want to mention… Stanley, who has never been delighted to be in his co-workers’ company unless he’s “on the clock”… Phyllis, without her other half, Bob Vance… this all makes so little sense, that it seems like the wack work of hack fan-fiction.

 

Anyway, I can always count on some local beer product placement, and at least they didn’t disappoint me here. I saw bottles of Stegmaier Pale Ale, Yuengling Black and Tan, and Yuengling “green bottle” Lager, which I happened to discover is Barack Obama’s favorite beer. Oddly enough, the Yuengling website no longer features the “green bottle” Lager; it is now in a brown bottle. I wonder if that that switch was made for an ecological reason? Or an aesthetic one? Or is it just the color of the glass that was available at brewing time?

 

The ending of the episode takes place at yet another bar trivia contest; according to the whiteboards that contestants are displaying, they are at the “Lion Brewery” which is located in Wilkes Barre, Pa; just a hop, skip and a jump from Scranton, which makes a heck of lot more sense. What doesn’t make any sense is the fact that the Lion Brewery is just that; they brew the beer at that location. There is no brew pub. Just a little bit of trivia for you.

 

~ Bob

 

Here’s a deleted scene from The Office episode, Trivia. Andy tries hard to push the team over the top.

Here are some photos from The Office episode, Pool Party, airing January 19, 2012.

Writer: tbd, Director: tbd Summary (NBC): Andy tries to find a way to meet his goal of doubling sales — when Oscar joins a trivia night contest, Andy decides to get the whole office involved. Meanwhile, Dwight visits Sabre headquarters to explore other job opportunities. The Office Trivia extras Video clips Photos Rating The Office [...]

Here are some photos from The Office episode, Trivia, airing January 12, 2012.

The Office will be at this year’s PaleyFest! PaleyFest2012: The Office Saban Theatre Beverly Hills, CA 7pm PST PaleyFest is a series of panel discussions celebrating the best of TV. The Office made its debut at PaleyFest with a cast discussion in 2007. The show has also participated in a Paley Center writers discussion in [...]

Well my friends, the new year is here.  All the relatives have gone home, the kids are back in school and the holiday decorations have been packed away – but never fear! If you’re still looking for some seasonal cheer, there’s an all new Office episode to look forward to this Thursday as the winter TV season kicks off with all new NBC Thursday night comedies.

Now I’m not quite sure what “Trivia” is actually about.  I know it has something to do with some sort of Trivia game that the office mates participate in outside the DM Sabre office.  How and why they are there will remain a question until Thursday.  However, the powers that be have released a few sneak peaks to wet our appetites.  For those of you who would rather wait and not be spoiled, DO NOT click on the red “Read on” button below.  Clips are after the jump. Dwight travels to Florida to claim what is rightfully his:

Kevin and his teammates ponder what blind people think about:

The Office’s Mindy Kaling gives a tour of her office!

A clip of the new episode of The Office, Trivia, airing this week, Jan. 12: Dwight arrives at Sabre headquarters to claim what’s his. A promo of Thursday night’s new episodes on NBC.

Here are video clips from Mindy Kaling’s visit to ‘Conan’ last night! I am totally Bill Clinton’s type