Speaker 1: Hello everybody, and ho ho drad Old, drad Old, Radol.
Speaker 1: Welcome to a super special holiday edition of the Office
Speaker 1: Deep Dive. I am your host, Brian Baumgartner, and boy,
Speaker 1: oh boy, have I got a treat for you today.
Speaker 1: We're doing something very different, something very different, something that
Speaker 1: I am delighted to share with you. Okay, here's a
Speaker 1: hand ring ring dunder Mifflin. This is Brian. That's right.
Speaker 1: Today we're doing a call in episode of the show.
Speaker 1: Who are the guests. You are the guests, and you
Speaker 1: decide what we talk about today. Get ready to laugh
Speaker 1: with me, to cry with me, and get mad with me. Well,
Speaker 1: maybe not get mad with me. But first I want
Speaker 1: to thank each and every one of you who sent
Speaker 1: in so many amazing messages. Truly, all of us here
Speaker 1: at the Office Deep Dive. We are at a total
Speaker 1: loss for words at how incredible and how open and
Speaker 1: how loving you have all been about the Office and
Speaker 1: the podcast. I wish that I could answer each and
Speaker 1: every one of you today, but know that we listen
Speaker 1: to every single one of your messages and they brought
Speaker 1: us so much joy. So now it's my turn. I'm
Speaker 1: hoping this episode will bring a little joy to you
Speaker 1: this holiday season. So, without further adea, I would like
Speaker 1: to present to you my first call in episode featuring
Speaker 1: probably my favorite guests of all time, you, Bubble and Squeak.
Speaker 1: I love it Bubble and Squeak On Bubble and Squeaker
Speaker 1: cook at every month. Left over from the night before
Speaker 1: Mr Bomb Gert Bob Taylor calling from the middle of nowhere, Saskatchewan, Canada,
Speaker 1: have a question for you. I was just wondering your
Speaker 1: iconic character, Kevin, as we all know and love. You know,
Speaker 1: I wouldn't want to change a thing, But if there's
Speaker 1: one thing you could change about Kevin Malone, what would
Speaker 1: it be? Enquiring Mines wants to know. Well, thanks Bob
Speaker 1: for your question. You know, I think the one thing
Speaker 1: I've addressed this a little bit throughout the podcast, I
Speaker 1: wish that Kevin had found love. You know. I talked
Speaker 1: to Ellie Kemper a little bit. I had pitched Aaron
Speaker 1: and Kevin getting together before the start of the final season.
Speaker 1: That obviously did not happen. But I wish Kevin had
Speaker 1: had found love. I wish there had been a little
Speaker 1: more uh victory for him in terms of his relationship.
Speaker 1: I love the storyline with Lynn when we had that.
Speaker 1: Obviously Stacy his fiance early on, she wasn't explored all
Speaker 1: that much. But yeah, I wish Kevin had had one
Speaker 1: of those small victories in finding love. Hi, Brian, my
Speaker 1: name is Logan Cortin's. I'm from Kansas City, Missouri. I'm
Speaker 1: a huge, huge fan of the Office. I loved all
Speaker 1: your interviews throughout the show. But, um, I have a
Speaker 1: story and I have a question for you. Um I
Speaker 1: want to start with my story. So, when I was
Speaker 1: in college, I worked for a baseball team called the
Speaker 1: Omaha Storm Chasers through the Triple A affiliate of Kansas
Speaker 1: City Royals, and I was working on an off day.
Speaker 1: I worked in the clubhouse. I was a clubhouse assistant,
Speaker 1: and I was a bad boy. Um. But I was
Speaker 1: at the ballpark on one of our off days and
Speaker 1: Warren Buffett happened to be at our at our ball
Speaker 1: field and he was talking to a general manager. My
Speaker 1: general manager asked me if I told me I could
Speaker 1: ask a question to Warren. And you know, Warren's this
Speaker 1: incredibly successful person, and all I can think about is
Speaker 1: that he had just aired or he had just been
Speaker 1: on an episode of the Office, like a couple of
Speaker 1: weeks before. So I go in, I sit down, and
Speaker 1: Warren's like, what's your question, young man? I go, yeah,
Speaker 1: what was the light to work with John Franciski and
Speaker 1: the cast of the Office. And he sits there for
Speaker 1: a second. He just laughed. He's like, Okay, well, not
Speaker 1: the question I expected. It tells me how great it was.
Speaker 1: Told me it was a phenomenal experience. My general may
Speaker 1: manager is absolutely dying laughing. He's like, you could ask
Speaker 1: him anything, but of course you had to come around
Speaker 1: and talk about the Office. That was pretty cool. Um.
Speaker 1: The question I had for you O'Brien is, back in
Speaker 1: the day when you guys were filming. In the episode
Speaker 1: Office the Olympics, we see all the different games that
Speaker 1: the characters played, But did you Oscar and Angela actually
Speaker 1: have games that you would play in accounting when you
Speaker 1: were like background characters first scene? I'd love to know more.
Speaker 1: Thank you well, Logan. First off, thank you for your
Speaker 1: story about Warren Buffett. I tell you the day that
Speaker 1: he and Charlie Munger came on set. That was amazing.
Speaker 1: I don't know how we pulled that off or who
Speaker 1: pulled that off. But the fact that he left and
Speaker 1: you asked him that question is awesome. Now about games,
Speaker 1: you know, we get asked a lot about pranks, right
Speaker 1: because pranks were such a huge part of the show.
Speaker 1: Hers is a similar question in terms of games and
Speaker 1: relating to Office Olympics. You know, the boring answer is
Speaker 1: we didn't really. I mean, we played comedy games. I
Speaker 1: guess like our games would be about trying to make
Speaker 1: each other laugh. That would be it would be about
Speaker 1: us in the deep background, attempting to make each other laugh.
Speaker 1: And and as we've discussed many times, we felt like
Speaker 1: there was a show within a show happening called The
Speaker 1: Accountants that we were the stars of. So we were
Speaker 1: always trying to make each other laugh and and pass notes,
Speaker 1: and in fact I have notes from Angela. Before the
Speaker 1: computers worked, we we would pass notes back and forth
Speaker 1: to each other, again in an attempt to make each
Speaker 1: other laugh, but also in character. So famously I have
Speaker 1: an illustration, Oscar has an illustration. I think Jenna Fisher
Speaker 1: has an illustration from and Jela on a post it
Speaker 1: note which was an invitation to sprinkles her Cat's birthday party.
Speaker 1: Hello Brian my name is Brianna, and I live in Dallas, Texas.
Speaker 1: And I know that you know this area very well
Speaker 1: as you went to s m U. So I feel
Speaker 1: like we have a connection already known the same neck
Speaker 1: of the woods. So I'm gonna get personal really quick.
Speaker 1: I have a funny office story I wanted to share.
Speaker 1: Sorry if it's a little bit t m I, but
Speaker 1: I think you'll you'll get how funny this is. So
Speaker 1: about four years ago, I had my oldest daughter, and
Speaker 1: after I had her, everything was going well and it
Speaker 1: came time to meet with the lactation consultant. Right so
Speaker 1: so me being a very first time mom, never having
Speaker 1: done breastfeeding before, I am in front of all these
Speaker 1: nurses and nurses come in and lactaian consultant, and the
Speaker 1: lactation consultant says, do you know how to stimulate your nipple?
Speaker 1: And I said, absolutely I do, and I start aggressively
Speaker 1: flicking my nipple with my finger, to which they were
Speaker 1: both appalled and thought was hilarious. They stopped me and said, whoa, whoa, whoa, honey,
Speaker 1: what are you doing? I said, stimulating the nipple and
Speaker 1: they said, who told you to do that? I said, um,
Speaker 1: I learned it from the office, right with Pam and
Speaker 1: her nation consultant. They thought that was the funniest thing.
Speaker 1: Couple nurses go out, grab some more nurses bring them
Speaker 1: and they say, Brianna, Brianna, tell us what you just
Speaker 1: did and how you learned it. I said, um, I
Speaker 1: was flicking my nipple because I learned it from the office.
Speaker 1: They just thought that was the most hysterical thing they
Speaker 1: could ever see, and to which they taught me, no, honey,
Speaker 1: be sure to roll stop with the flicking. So I
Speaker 1: just think that is it just really speaks to me
Speaker 1: because The Office is such a special show to a
Speaker 1: my entire family. I just give so much credit to
Speaker 1: every single person on that show, from the casting all
Speaker 1: the way down to the acting, to the heart that
Speaker 1: was put into the editing, every single detail. I wish
Speaker 1: I could have been there. I truly wish I could
Speaker 1: have been a fly on the wall to see what
Speaker 1: I think is the greatest show to ever hit television
Speaker 1: and my favorite show that I've ever seen in my life.
Speaker 1: So anyway, it was a pleasure sending in this video memo.
Speaker 1: I don't know if you'll ever hear it or not.
Speaker 1: But thank you Ryan for your last couple of years
Speaker 1: of these incredibly special podcasts. I've listened to every single one,
Speaker 1: and thank you for your time and thank you for
Speaker 1: sharing your love of the show with all of us.
Speaker 1: All Right, thanks Brian, byebye. All right, Brianna, Well, first off, yes,
Speaker 1: I did hear your story. Uh, there's so much to
Speaker 1: unpack here. First off, Hail to the Red and the Blue,
Speaker 1: the Mustangs of SMU. Yes, I went to SMU there
Speaker 1: in Dallas, and maybe we'll into each other sometime when
Speaker 1: I am back. Now it feels as though you're trying
Speaker 1: to get me in trouble. You you you said flicking
Speaker 1: my nipple several times. I don't know where to go
Speaker 1: exactly with that, but thank you for your story. You know,
Speaker 1: it reminds me of another story that I read about actually,
Speaker 1: where somebody learned something from the office. It wasn't about lactation,
Speaker 1: let me be clear. But there was a guy by
Speaker 1: the name of Cross Scott, twenty one years of age,
Speaker 1: back in nineteen He was an auto technician in Arizona,
Speaker 1: and he was driving down the road and he saw
Speaker 1: a car that was pulled over and a woman who
Speaker 1: appeared to need some help. He pulled over to help her,
Speaker 1: and she was unconscious and he had to break her
Speaker 1: window and got in and was trying to help her.
Speaker 1: He didn't have a cell phone, and he realized he
Speaker 1: needed to do CPR, but he didn't know CPR, and
Speaker 1: he thought to himself, well, the only point of reference
Speaker 1: that I have for CPR is the office the stress
Speaker 1: relief episode, and he remembered, uh uh uh uh, stay
Speaker 1: in alive, stay in alive, which apparently, according to the
Speaker 1: American Heart Association, is actually the correct beat for CPR.
Speaker 1: I looked that up. That is true, so at least
Speaker 1: that was accurate. So Cross did this version of CPR
Speaker 1: on the woman. An ambulance arrived ten or fifteen minutes later,
Speaker 1: and the woman survived, and they told Cross that had
Speaker 1: he not performed this CPR on her, that things would
Speaker 1: not have turned out. Okay. She she recovered and it's
Speaker 1: fine as far as I know today. So you learned
Speaker 1: about nipple flicking. Uh, maybe that wasn't the right way
Speaker 1: to go, but Cross Scott used the office to save
Speaker 1: a woman's life. Unbelievable. Hey, Brian, I just want to
Speaker 1: let you know that your podcast, it's my absolute favorite podcast.
Speaker 1: It makes Tuesday commutes tolerable, I guess, going through traffic
Speaker 1: all the way to working back. Um, so here here's
Speaker 1: my question. My question would be if you can pick
Speaker 1: any character in the Office to do a spinoff show about.
Speaker 1: Who would it be and what would it be about.
Speaker 1: I'm looking forward to answer. Thank you very much, Thanks
Speaker 1: Alex for your question. You know, we haven't talked much
Speaker 1: about this throughout the podcast, mostly because it didn't happen,
Speaker 1: but Rain Wilson and Paul Lieberstein, who played Toby but
Speaker 1: was also showrunner of the Office, as you know, for
Speaker 1: a while, they actually developed a spin off in season
Speaker 1: eight and it was called The Farm and it was
Speaker 1: about Dwight and his Beat Farm. Now, remnants of that
Speaker 1: episode played as an episode of The Office called The Farm,
Speaker 1: and that was going to be the title of the spinoff. Unfortunately,
Speaker 1: NBC decided not to pick up that show, and so
Speaker 1: we never got to see more exploits from Dwight and
Speaker 1: his family on the Beat Farm. So one, I think
Speaker 1: that's a spectacular idea and one that I certainly feel
Speaker 1: would be worth exploring in the future. And the other
Speaker 1: is what I mentioned before, The Accountants Oscar Angela and Kevin.
Speaker 1: I think those three disparate characters working together, I've called
Speaker 1: it the perfect comedy triangle. Um the way the characters
Speaker 1: are drawn and how they interact with each other, I
Speaker 1: think they could work in almost any setting. So whether
Speaker 1: it was at dunder Mifflin or somewhere else, I guess
Speaker 1: my answer number two would be the Accountants. Hi, Brian,
Speaker 1: my name is Brian Rosier, and I live in Buffalo,
Speaker 1: New York. And this is the story of how The
Speaker 1: Office helped me graduate from high school. So in the
Speaker 1: year I was a senior in high school and all
Speaker 1: the students had to complete what was called a senior project. Um.
Speaker 1: It was a semester long class the way that it
Speaker 1: was set up, but you basically spend nine weeks researching
Speaker 1: a topic of your choice and presenting an argument at
Speaker 1: the end of the year. And so um our teachers
Speaker 1: were encouraging us to pick something new, something they hadn't
Speaker 1: heard before. I thought, what do I really like right now?
Speaker 1: And at the time, I was obsessed with The Office.
Speaker 1: I was finally discovering it, and I was just so
Speaker 1: amazed by how it was shot differently, how it was
Speaker 1: unlike anything I'd ever seen before. I thought it was
Speaker 1: so funny. Um So I decided that my topic would
Speaker 1: be why The Office is the greatest show of all time.
Speaker 1: My teachers loved it, and they fought over who got
Speaker 1: to be my advisor at the end of the year
Speaker 1: because they all really wanted to see my project. And
Speaker 1: I spent the next semester researching and finding out more
Speaker 1: about what set the Office apart, why it was so popular.
Speaker 1: And this was before even the boom that it's in
Speaker 1: right now. Um So, I was doing my own deep
Speaker 1: dives for a grade for my diploma. Um and at
Speaker 1: the end of the year, I presented it and I
Speaker 1: had to have a visual aid, and I decided, naturally
Speaker 1: to put a stapler in Jello. It's a lot easier
Speaker 1: than you might think. I learned. The secret is dental flaws,
Speaker 1: and I encourage people to try it if they want to.
Speaker 1: So that is the story of how The Office helped
Speaker 1: me graduate from high school. Well listen, first off, Brian,
Speaker 1: stay in your lane. Okay, I do the deep diving
Speaker 1: on the Office, and now to learn that you did
Speaker 1: it many years ago. I don't even I feel like
Speaker 1: I don't have a place right now. I don't know.
Speaker 1: This is very this is very humbling. Listen why the
Speaker 1: Office is the greatest show ever of all time? I
Speaker 1: think is a very worthy senior project. I hope you
Speaker 1: convinced everyone of all of your classmates and teachers of
Speaker 1: it being so. I'm glad you graduated. Thank you for that.
Speaker 1: And I I didn't know about dental floss. I had
Speaker 1: no idea that that is how you suspended it. In fact,
Speaker 1: I have often wondered how you could suspend a stapler
Speaker 1: into jello. I didn't realize dental flaws, and even when
Speaker 1: you said dental flaws, I was like, how does that work?
Speaker 1: But now I get it. You suspend it while the
Speaker 1: jello molds cools. I don't know. That's incredible. Can gratulations
Speaker 1: on your project, but just stay in your lane, all right, Brian,
Speaker 1: Stay stay in your lane. Hey, Brian, it is Keith
Speaker 1: Padine from Connecticut. You and I have a history that
Speaker 1: goes back a little bit that I remember, and I
Speaker 1: guarantee you do not. However, I was one of the
Speaker 1: blogger breakfasts at the original convention there in uh Scranton.
Speaker 1: I had a website called the two Cents Dot com
Speaker 1: At the time, I was just like this twentysomething year
Speaker 1: old guy that lived in this little cottage on a
Speaker 1: farm where I worked a farm job. But I started
Speaker 1: covering the office and via my Space, uh it was
Speaker 1: Jenna and Angela and Laura Harden. I was able to
Speaker 1: get interviews via my Space with you guys and have
Speaker 1: them be exclusive to my site. I started interviewing all
Speaker 1: the smaller characters like Evette. Nicole Brown might be one
Speaker 1: of my favorite ones ever when she paid Parish in Staples,
Speaker 1: the Staples episode with Dwight. You know, the office was
Speaker 1: something that connected to fans in such a way, but
Speaker 1: this like changed my life. By doing this, I started
Speaker 1: getting like press passes and I was able to be
Speaker 1: a v I p at the convention with you guys.
Speaker 1: So I was able to be at casino night, which
Speaker 1: was the small part, and I played poker next to
Speaker 1: Ed Helms, watched Craig Robinson saying creep I remember with
Speaker 1: the band and the scrand Tones were there, you know,
Speaker 1: and then the big concert where you guys all kind
Speaker 1: of wet nuts and you guys were just having fun,
Speaker 1: and it led us all to believe that what we
Speaker 1: had hoped was true, was that you were people who
Speaker 1: were enjoying yourselves just as much as we were enjoy
Speaker 1: watching you. You You were real people, You were normal, so
Speaker 1: so to speak, people who were able to communicate with
Speaker 1: us and just be excited about the show. Um. It
Speaker 1: led to so much for me from that little website.
Speaker 1: I became a member of the Broadcast Television Journalists Associated
Speaker 1: for several years, um you know, and covering all different shows.
Speaker 1: The two Cents got huge. I had like thirty something
Speaker 1: writers for me for a while. But it all started
Speaker 1: because you guys were willing to communicate with your fans,
Speaker 1: and I was able to find that and write it
Speaker 1: up and do some podcasts. I did a long podcast
Speaker 1: once with Bobby Ray Schaefer and I remember, I mean,
Speaker 1: it was insane. I was in l A for about
Speaker 1: four days for one of my best friend's weddings, and
Speaker 1: I get a phone call and it was Bobby Ray saying,
Speaker 1: I heard you're in l A. And I was hoping
Speaker 1: that we could have lunch like I did lunch with
Speaker 1: the office like. It was just crazy. We went out
Speaker 1: to sati Quoi and saw the building where you guys were.
Speaker 1: It was insane. The office totally changed my life. I'm
Speaker 1: now a data four out here in farm country in Connecticut,
Speaker 1: but the office, for that part of my life was
Speaker 1: such a special thing. And now to be able to
Speaker 1: listen to this podcast and relive all that and think
Speaker 1: of all these memories and all those moments and the
Speaker 1: way that you've done it so beautifully through this podcast
Speaker 1: and talking to all these people, it's been really, really special.
Speaker 1: So thank you for what you've done. I believe your
Speaker 1: birthday was yesterday, so happy birthday to you, sir um
Speaker 1: And from a person who got to stand next to
Speaker 1: it the bloggers breakfast and thought that was probably one
Speaker 1: of the biggest deals ever in my life. Thank you
Speaker 1: so much, Keith, Thank you so much for reaching out.
Speaker 1: I remember very well that bloggers breakfast. In fact, I
Speaker 1: was just back in Scratton a few weeks ago and
Speaker 1: drove by the Hilton where that bloggers breakfast took place
Speaker 1: and pointed out the window. It was like, that's where
Speaker 1: we had the bloggers breakfast one morning at the convention.
Speaker 1: I think the only time I've ever been in that building. Listen,
Speaker 1: it's it's truly moving to me to hear your story
Speaker 1: and I'm so glad that your experience with everybody was
Speaker 1: so positive. I remember that convention and subsequent to that
Speaker 1: the Rap party as being um one of the best
Speaker 1: experiences of the show. We felt a special bond with
Speaker 1: the people who had such a love for the show,
Speaker 1: and that traveled to Scranton, Pennsylvania. It sounds like from
Speaker 1: even for you not that close by to come and
Speaker 1: spend some time with us. We had so much fun.
Speaker 1: You know, I referenced it again because it sticks with me.
Speaker 1: Andy Bernard at Helm's line, I wish I knew we
Speaker 1: were in the good old days while they were happening
Speaker 1: that convention there certainly in retrospect now, those those were
Speaker 1: the good old days. So thank you for reconnecting. I'm
Speaker 1: so glad that the office and the connection you made
Speaker 1: with so many of us helped you at that time
Speaker 1: in your life. It truly was our our pleasure. And yeah,
Speaker 1: you bring up my space. That was our first attempt
Speaker 1: when the show struggling mightily to find a couple of
Speaker 1: audience members. That was our attempt to try to connect
Speaker 1: to people in a new and different way. Uh, And
Speaker 1: I'm glad to know that it, Um, it worked for you,
Speaker 1: so God bless my friend. Congratulations on your four kids
Speaker 1: and your new life now in Connecticut. But thank you
Speaker 1: for reminding me of of those good old days. Hi Brian,
Speaker 1: Hi everybody minding this. Karen. I'm from Bloomington, Illinois. I
Speaker 1: just wanted to share with the really quick how The
Speaker 1: Office has really influenced my life and my family. UM.
Speaker 1: We quote it all the time. My boyfriend and I
Speaker 1: started our relationship watching The Office together and we'll be
Speaker 1: celebrating our four year anniversary. We quote the Office all
Speaker 1: the time. It comes up in conversation. UM, and I
Speaker 1: was wondering if you'd, guys, have any of your favorite
Speaker 1: quotes come up all the time, or if you have
Speaker 1: any little bit to the Office that show up from
Speaker 1: time to time in your daily life. Have a happy holidays,
Speaker 1: I Kara, thanks so much for your question. Uh, listen,
Speaker 1: I don't know at this point if there's a day
Speaker 1: that goes by that I don't say, that's what she said,
Speaker 1: I mean, And and when I'm when I'm in a
Speaker 1: public setting, it feels weird, just like self reference the
Speaker 1: show in that way. But yes, it has become I
Speaker 1: don't I don't even know if daily is right hourly
Speaker 1: thrice daily reference for me as well. And you know, look,
Speaker 1: I spend a lot of time talking about Chili. I
Speaker 1: don't know that there's a specific quote on that, but yes,
Speaker 1: and there is a a giant text chain. Is that
Speaker 1: what you call it? Text chain? Text group text between
Speaker 1: me and some of my other cohorts on the show.
Speaker 1: And yeah, I would say that's what she said. Is
Speaker 1: I mean, I don't know that anyone can say anything
Speaker 1: it without referencing that's what she said. So thank you, Kara.
Speaker 1: I'm glad things are going well for you. Congratulations on
Speaker 1: almost four years together, and thank you for your comments
Speaker 1: about the Office and how it has impacted your life. Hi,
Speaker 1: Ryan and Office steep Dive crew. Having looked back on
Speaker 1: all the episodes listened to and the few I have
Speaker 1: waiting for me, I am reminded of all the moments
Speaker 1: where you discuss how we as fans feel so connected
Speaker 1: with the cast and characters because you have become such crucial,
Speaker 1: crucial pieces to the good, the bad, and the ugly
Speaker 1: moments of our lives. And if we are to believe
Speaker 1: that The Office is an experience of connecting and growing
Speaker 1: close with the fictional characters, over thousands of minutes of
Speaker 1: watching I do believe, which I do believe, then I
Speaker 1: believe The Office Steep Dive podcast is the experience of
Speaker 1: getting to know the humans behind the characters and the production,
Speaker 1: only to remember that the smartest, most brilliant show has
Speaker 1: already been made and there will almost definitely never be
Speaker 1: anything better. I come away from each podcast episode with
Speaker 1: a greater gratitude for each and every human that work
Speaker 1: to start the show and keep it running for nine years,
Speaker 1: all those who fought to make it the best it
Speaker 1: could be. And not only is the gratitude for a
Speaker 1: show that brings my family and I together, but for
Speaker 1: the wonderful, creative, smart humans who made it worth watching
Speaker 1: more than seven times through except for Scott's taughts, because well,
Speaker 1: I don't think I need to say why. So from
Speaker 1: the bottom of my heart, thank you to each and
Speaker 1: every one of you for not only creating the world's
Speaker 1: best show, but for being such kind and genuine people
Speaker 1: who made something so magical just by being yourselves. Nico,
Speaker 1: thank you. Look that for me was the point in
Speaker 1: this podcast in bringing everybody back together, is for all
Speaker 1: of you to be able to hear what good people
Speaker 1: that I had the opportunity to work with for decade
Speaker 1: and to hear our real and true interactions together as
Speaker 1: we relived that decade of our life. Look, I'm not
Speaker 1: a reporter. That much is very very clear, but I
Speaker 1: what I wanted you all to be able to experience
Speaker 1: was our conversation, not about the show in an objective way,
Speaker 1: in a third person presentational way, but I wanted you
Speaker 1: to have the experience of of reliving the show through
Speaker 1: us having been there and the fact that you appreciate
Speaker 1: so many of these people Nico, Um, well you're you're
Speaker 1: dead on. You're dead on, and so thank you for
Speaker 1: your comments, thank you for for watching it now over
Speaker 1: seven times. I want you to know that you're appreciated
Speaker 1: and uh and you are beautiful as well. Hey, Brian,
Speaker 1: my name is Tyler b from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and
Speaker 1: I am just gonna leave a comment really quick on
Speaker 1: how The Office changed my life. First off, the show started,
Speaker 1: uh roughly in two thousand five, and at that time
Speaker 1: I was nine years old and I remember, you know,
Speaker 1: every Thursday night as a kid growing up with my
Speaker 1: dad watching the Office on NBC, and it was just
Speaker 1: something that we always bonded together over uh. The special
Speaker 1: thing about The Office was for me. Uh. I came
Speaker 1: out when I was twenty one years old as a
Speaker 1: gay man, and The Office Provided was one of the
Speaker 1: first shows on network television, if not the first one,
Speaker 1: I can't remember exactly, but that had some sort of
Speaker 1: character that resembled or represented a gay man in uh
Speaker 1: network television show, and that was an auso here obviously,
Speaker 1: and you know the comedy involved and uh as a
Speaker 1: kid knowing at a young age about my life and
Speaker 1: you know, who I was, but keeping it closeted to myself,
Speaker 1: it was a very uh, very special thing to see.
Speaker 1: And even though that was in my younger years, you know,
Speaker 1: just keeping that in the back of my mind that
Speaker 1: you know, maybe one day that things could be better
Speaker 1: and then you know, kind of living I fear that
Speaker 1: if somebody figured out who I was, um, how that
Speaker 1: was going to affect and change my life, And the
Speaker 1: offer the Office was really that comfort for me, you know,
Speaker 1: every time I watched an episode, especially the Gay witch Hunt,
Speaker 1: which I laughed just about every single time. But I
Speaker 1: think growing up I always had that fear of you know,
Speaker 1: That's how my coming out experience was going to be
Speaker 1: like so I I just I always tried to I
Speaker 1: remember the day when I first told somebody about who
Speaker 1: I was. I always feared that my my experience was
Speaker 1: going to run similar to what Oscar had to go
Speaker 1: through in the Gay Witch. So uh, you know, things
Speaker 1: like that. That's that's how it changed my life, and
Speaker 1: it gave me a lot of hope. Thank you very much,
Speaker 1: have a good one, Tyler. Thank you for calling in.
Speaker 1: I'm glad it didn't go that way for you. Look,
Speaker 1: there's so much to unpack in this beautiful story that
Speaker 1: you've told. First off, just I hear all the time,
Speaker 1: and this is an example of you know, you were nine,
Speaker 1: one could argue a little young, but um of kids
Speaker 1: watching with their parents, sisters and brothers and family enjoying
Speaker 1: the show together multi generationally, So that's cool to me.
Speaker 1: Number one. And look, I don't know if The Office
Speaker 1: was the first show to show a gay character on
Speaker 1: network television, but I'm so tremendously proud of one on
Speaker 1: the show. And to Oscar Nuniez and and his performance.
Speaker 1: You know, he's talked about this a lot. He didn't
Speaker 1: realize that Oscar Martinez was gay when the show started.
Speaker 1: I don't know if Greg Daniels had that in his mind,
Speaker 1: but Oscar Nuniez did not know that Oscar Martinez was gay.
Speaker 1: And so when Gay witch Hunt was written and it
Speaker 1: became clear that Oscar Martinez was gay, I guess there
Speaker 1: were some people that that asked Oscar, well, how are
Speaker 1: you going to play the character now that you know this?
Speaker 1: And his response was always, well, the same, this is
Speaker 1: Oscar is Oscar, and the fact that now other people
Speaker 1: know that he's gay doesn't affect Oscar's behavior at all.
Speaker 1: He is who he is and who he always has been.
Speaker 1: And I'm tremendously proud of that because I think that
Speaker 1: it would be typical for an actor or for a
Speaker 1: show to start making broad stereotypical adjustments to character based
Speaker 1: on that and the fact that that story helped you
Speaker 1: or gave you hope for your future. I mean, it's
Speaker 1: a cliche, but that's that's what I'm talking about. That's
Speaker 1: why I'm I'm proud of the show and what we
Speaker 1: at times tried to look at in the world, truth
Speaker 1: and beauty, Truth and beauty, Truth and beauty, as Greg
Speaker 1: Daniels would say, and whether it be race, gender, sexuality,
Speaker 1: issues of health care. We tried to look at real
Speaker 1: topics in a real way, not in a stereotypical or
Speaker 1: general life way. So Tyler, thank you for calling in.
Speaker 1: Thank you for telling that story, and and if it
Speaker 1: is true and if it helped you in any way
Speaker 1: deal with your coming out, well, God bless you, and
Speaker 1: thank you for having the courage to to tell not
Speaker 1: just me, but all of our listeners all best, my friend.
Speaker 1: So look, I am just blown away by how many
Speaker 1: of you called in to be a part of this show.
Speaker 1: But more than that, how many of you called in
Speaker 1: from abroad. I mean the amount and number of countries
Speaker 1: that we heard from. I I I'm touched, to say
Speaker 1: the least. Um, So I'd like to share some of
Speaker 1: those submissions with you right now. Let's let's go overseas
Speaker 1: for a bit, shall we across the pond? Brian is
Speaker 1: Cola from Oslo, Norway. Here. Hi, I'm Nail Martin. I'm
Speaker 1: from Ireland. My name is Laura Power. I am from Melbourne, Australia. Hi, Brian,
Speaker 1: this is Tom Elliott over in UK. At first, like everyone,
Speaker 1: of course, I fell in love with the characters. I
Speaker 1: love team at Love Pain, I love to act, I
Speaker 1: love you. I wish I could work at dunder Men.
Speaker 1: I know everyone says that, but um, yeah, it is true.
Speaker 1: We all want to work at this magnificent office. I
Speaker 1: never get sick of watching the Office. I've watched it
Speaker 1: probably over twenty times back to front now, and I
Speaker 1: never get sick of talking about it. So I guess
Speaker 1: that leads me into my question for you, which is,
Speaker 1: do you think there will ever come a day where
Speaker 1: you just don't want to talk about the US anymore?
Speaker 1: My friends and family will be the first to tell
Speaker 1: you that that won't come for me. That day won't
Speaker 1: come for me, But I'm curious to see if you
Speaker 1: think it will come for you. Well. First of all,
Speaker 1: thank you to Ulah, to Nile, Tom Ramiro, thank you Kanako,
Speaker 1: thank you for calling in. And now to answer your question, Laura,
Speaker 1: do I do I think there will ever come a
Speaker 1: day where I don't want to talk about the Office anymore? Tomorrow?
Speaker 1: How's that for an answer? Tomorrow I won't want to
Speaker 1: talk about it anymore. Now. I don't know if tomorrow
Speaker 1: will ever come, but tomorrow I won't want to look
Speaker 1: I have as you know I have deep dovin into
Speaker 1: the show now for two years. We have the podcast,
Speaker 1: we have the book. I've talked to everybody associated with
Speaker 1: the show. I don't know that I ever answered the
Speaker 1: question that I set out to answer, which is why
Speaker 1: is the show now bigger than it ever was when
Speaker 1: it was on NBC? Why is it now the most
Speaker 1: watch show in television? The exploration has been pretty damn
Speaker 1: fun though, So yeah, I'm gonna stop talking about it tomorrow. Hi,
Speaker 1: Brian and team. My name is Leam. I'm coming to
Speaker 1: you all the way from sunny Scotland, so I apologize
Speaker 1: if you can't understand my Dulca accent. I just wanted
Speaker 1: to say that I love the podcast. That's amazing a
Speaker 1: lesson all these global superstars in my eyes sort of
Speaker 1: talk about how brilliant their time was making the show.
Speaker 1: He don't all these mad, funny stories and hearing how
Speaker 1: class are hearing? How close to us will we? I'm
Speaker 1: a massive fan of the U S Office. Um. I
Speaker 1: remember when it was first announced it was going to
Speaker 1: be remade, and I was one of these skeptics that
Speaker 1: you get in Scotland and the UK as a whole
Speaker 1: that they're remaking Son for America. This isn't gonna work.
Speaker 1: But I think that it's got its own identity, it's
Speaker 1: got its own fuel to um. The characters are completely different.
Speaker 1: And yeah, absolutely love it. But my question is where
Speaker 1: you expecting But obviously it didn't seem like you were
Speaker 1: expecting it to be a big hit in America. But
Speaker 1: after it was a hit in America, were you also
Speaker 1: expecting it to be such a massive hit across the
Speaker 1: world and in particular places like Scotland and the rest
Speaker 1: of the UK. Thank you very much, Speak Tason Liam
Speaker 1: Liam from Scotland over across the part that is the
Speaker 1: worst Scottish accent in the world. I apologize to that, Liam,
Speaker 1: I mean no disrespect. Listen who No, we were not
Speaker 1: expecting it to be uh, we were not expecting it,
Speaker 1: as you said, to be a hit here. Of course,
Speaker 1: we were not expecting it to be a hit abroad.
Speaker 1: And I think you know what's interesting because like you, yes,
Speaker 1: we were hearing that in the United States. By the way,
Speaker 1: like now, we do live in in a global world.
Speaker 1: So when all of the articles and people talking over
Speaker 1: in the UK about how this was a disastrous choice
Speaker 1: for America to be re redoing this show. Just know this.
Speaker 1: We were we were hearing all of those things, okay,
Speaker 1: and they they were not uh, they were not fun.
Speaker 1: And in part it was because I thought that the
Speaker 1: original office, the British Office, the English off was genius,
Speaker 1: and that Ricky Gervais was a genius. And I loved
Speaker 1: the show. But as my great friend and partner Ben
Speaker 1: Silverman would say, if you were going to remake something,
Speaker 1: would you want to remake a piece of ship or
Speaker 1: would you want to remake a great piece of art?
Speaker 1: I think he has a point there, and I think
Speaker 1: that the key for us was finding what was uniquely
Speaker 1: American about the show and what was also uniquely universal
Speaker 1: about the setup and the characters. So no, I was not.
Speaker 1: And I will tell you that I took a trip
Speaker 1: actually with Ben Silverman, not to Scotland, but based on
Speaker 1: my knowledge of geography, fairly close down in Ireland. We
Speaker 1: were down in Cork and I remember going into a
Speaker 1: little pub with Ben in Cork and having a number
Speaker 1: of people who were sitting at the bar turn and
Speaker 1: look at me and acknowledge that they knew who I
Speaker 1: was from our little show from across upon and how
Speaker 1: surprised and and delighted both Ben and I were with
Speaker 1: that reception. So cheers mate, and uh I hope to
Speaker 1: see you there in Scotland soon, maybe on a golf course.
Speaker 1: Hey Brian, this is Eve from some follow Brazil. My
Speaker 1: question for you guys is if you could go back
Speaker 1: in time and shoot one episode all over again, which
Speaker 1: one would you pick? Maybe because you had so much
Speaker 1: fun shooting it, or because you would do something different
Speaker 1: about the episode, or just because you want to go
Speaker 1: back to that specific point in time. So tell me
Speaker 1: which one. Eve. That is a spectacular question. I have
Speaker 1: thought about this answer more than any other question I
Speaker 1: was asked, because yes one, there are so many different
Speaker 1: ways that I can go with this. I think that
Speaker 1: where my answer settles in this moment would be Jim
Speaker 1: and Pam's wedding Niagara. First off, it was a mess.
Speaker 1: Let me just say that the shooting of that episode
Speaker 1: was very, very difficult because, as we've discussed throughout the podcast,
Speaker 1: the writing was changing up until basically we shot it.
Speaker 1: We were going very very late, long hours on that shoot.
Speaker 1: But I don't know the joy of that episode and
Speaker 1: shooting shooting that Chris Brown walking into the chapel. Seen
Speaker 1: that's where I go. I don't know. And and maybe
Speaker 1: it's now seeing clips on YouTube or montages that fans
Speaker 1: have put together that typically include that scene, the look
Speaker 1: on all of our faces, the culmination of that story,
Speaker 1: and the joy we had in shooting it, as difficult
Speaker 1: as it was. If we shoot it again, I'd like
Speaker 1: it to be easier and not quite so many hours
Speaker 1: or late at night. But yeah, that for me is it.
Speaker 1: And you know, I've told this story as well to
Speaker 1: those of you who haven't heard it in that we
Speaker 1: actually shot at the Maid of the Mist at Niagara Falls,
Speaker 1: and my parents happened to be there in New York
Speaker 1: vacationing with some friends and went and saw John and
Speaker 1: Jenna and some of the their crew members, and they
Speaker 1: appear in that episode. They are the couple that are
Speaker 1: walking right behind Jim and Pam as they get their
Speaker 1: rain gear to walk onto the boat. So maybe I
Speaker 1: want to go back and shoot that episode again because
Speaker 1: I wish I'd gone there. I think next time I
Speaker 1: would go there and be there with my folks while
Speaker 1: we shot that scene. So that's my answer today. Hi Brian,
Speaker 1: my name is Kristen. I'm from Prince George, British Columbia,
Speaker 1: and I just wanted to send in this story. Two
Speaker 1: years ago, I gave birth to my son his The
Speaker 1: labor and delivery with his birth was quite traumatic, and
Speaker 1: I struggled with postpartum depression afterwards, and I was thinking
Speaker 1: about ways that I could boost my spirits, and I
Speaker 1: remembered a family member had told me when they were
Speaker 1: ruggling with depression, a counselor many decades ago had told
Speaker 1: them to um, listen to funny things, watch funny things,
Speaker 1: just to boost their spirits. I was like, oh, I
Speaker 1: might as well try it. So I um was on
Speaker 1: my Netflix and looking through and my husband suggested that
Speaker 1: I watched The Office. He knows that I love Dinner Party,
Speaker 1: but um, he doesn't have the same love for Dinner
Speaker 1: Party as I do. So he said, oh, I don't
Speaker 1: care what you watch. If it's going to make you laugh,
Speaker 1: then you should watch it. So I turned it on
Speaker 1: and I probably watched Dinner Party every day for five months.
Speaker 1: Even in my lowest days, it could still bring a
Speaker 1: smile to my face. And I'm just really grateful for
Speaker 1: those tiny moment mints of just happiness that the Office
Speaker 1: had brought me in those really dark days. And I'm
Speaker 1: fully recovered from the depression now, but I still um
Speaker 1: watched the Office diligently and I'm just very thankful for it.
Speaker 1: So thank you for going through and interviewing everyone. It's
Speaker 1: just been wonderful to listen to and hear new stories.
Speaker 1: So just thank you for the the joy you brought
Speaker 1: to my life. Kristen, thank you for sharing your story
Speaker 1: with me and with all of us. I've said now
Speaker 1: many times that the greatest gift that the Office has
Speaker 1: given me is well stories like that. You know, we
Speaker 1: we truly felt we were just a bunch of idiots,
Speaker 1: and we were, let's be clear, a bunch of idiots
Speaker 1: trying to make people laugh. And when I hear stories
Speaker 1: like that that this show, this band of idiots have
Speaker 1: brought comfort during a difficult time, well it it truly well,
Speaker 1: it clearly takes my my words away and my breath away.
Speaker 1: I thank you for sharing your story. I am so
Speaker 1: glad that we marry a bunch of idiots were able
Speaker 1: to give you some comfort in a difficult and dark time.
Speaker 1: And I give credit mostly to Greg Daniels about this
Speaker 1: because look, this was a comedy meant to make people laugh.
Speaker 1: They say laughter is the best medicine, right. But I
Speaker 1: think that the depth of the show, which were relates
Speaker 1: to the central message of the show that Greg explains
Speaker 1: very clearly with the last line of the show that
Speaker 1: there's beauty and ordinary things. Isn't that kind of the
Speaker 1: point and that hope, that idea I think is um
Speaker 1: it is comforting, right, it is for me. So thank
Speaker 1: you for your courage to to want to tell me
Speaker 1: that story. Thank you for that because I consider that
Speaker 1: a gift to me. We all consider that a gift
Speaker 1: to all of us. So thank you. And yes, I'm glad.
Speaker 1: I'm glad that you're better now and still watching Hello
Speaker 1: Office deep dive, I know I'm not alone in the world,
Speaker 1: and saying that The Office has truly helped me through life.
Speaker 1: I'm twenty three years old and I grew up in
Speaker 1: foster or care in Halifax, Nova Scotia. I've never truly
Speaker 1: felt like there's a lot of representation of youth and
Speaker 1: care and TV. Some of the trauma and hardships that
Speaker 1: take place while growing up in the foster care system
Speaker 1: manifest resilient and unique individuals that sometimes have a difficulty
Speaker 1: fitting in and feel like they can't relate to their peers.
Speaker 1: It means the world to have a character out there
Speaker 1: that has some shread of resemblance to compare to the
Speaker 1: writing of Aaron's character, and Ellie's performance felt accurate to
Speaker 1: my experience and truly made me feel seen. Thank you
Speaker 1: for all that you do on your podcast, and for
Speaker 1: carrying the essence of beauty and the small things throughout
Speaker 1: your podcast from the show, and for being part of
Speaker 1: a show that brought so many people comfort. Seanna, thank
Speaker 1: you for calling in. You know, there's a phrase that
Speaker 1: you used that I wrote down, resilient and unique individuals
Speaker 1: who sometimes have difficulty fitting in. And you talk about
Speaker 1: that in terms of children who have gone through the
Speaker 1: foster care system. But isn't that all of us? In
Speaker 1: a way, the world has a way of making resilient
Speaker 1: and unique individuals who sometimes have difficulty fitting in. I
Speaker 1: don't think that I could have described many of the
Speaker 1: characters on The Office any better than that. And maybe
Speaker 1: that after two years of searching for the answer of
Speaker 1: why the show resonates with people, now, maybe that maybe
Speaker 1: that's the answer. People feel seen because these characters in
Speaker 1: the office are seen. I don't know, but thank you, Shanna,
Speaker 1: thank you for calling in. Wow, incredible, Thank you all
Speaker 1: so much. It got a little emotional there for a bit,
Speaker 1: but I want to thank you all well for sharing
Speaker 1: your lives with me, with us really, and the fact
Speaker 1: that this show has reached so many people from so
Speaker 1: many places around the world, It's just incredible. Look, I'm
Speaker 1: a I'm a kid from Georgia, That's who I am,
Speaker 1: and so to start there and to now just be
Speaker 1: casually talking to people from Scotland and Brazil and the UK, Argentina,
Speaker 1: it is a dream come true for me. The world
Speaker 1: truly is a small place. Thank you so much for
Speaker 1: making my holidays so special. I hope that this show
Speaker 1: has done the same for you. Look, I hope this
Speaker 1: week that you get to spend some time with your
Speaker 1: loved ones, or if not, at least spend some time
Speaker 1: with your office family. Happy holidays to one and all
Speaker 1: of you. The Office. Deep Dive is hosted and executive
Speaker 1: produced by me Brian Baumgartner, alongside our executive producer Langley.
Speaker 1: Our producers are Liz Hayes and Diego Topi. On my
Speaker 1: main man in the booth is Alec Moore. Our theme
Speaker 1: song Bubble and Squeak, performed by my great friend Creed Bratton,
Speaker 1: and the episode was mixed by Seth Olandski