Full transcript
Question: Fans got pretty nervous when Jim and Pam started experiencing marital problems after several seasons of bliss. Greg, what made you decide to explore that route in the final season, and John, what was that like to play?
Greg Daniels: I want to compliment and share credit with John and the cast who became producers this year, John and Jenna and Rainn and Ed. This was something that we wanted to do, but the bones of it came a lot out of something from his brother. Do you want to tell the story?
John Krasinski: Yeah. My favorite thing about the show has always bee, especially with the Jim and Pam story, how real the writers have always been to a relationship in that yes, they’re incredibly blissful times, like you were saying. But there’s also times where the world around them can stall out and feel like it’s not enough or feel bland or more exciting from time-to-time.
And so my whole pitch to Greg was that we’ve done so much with Jim and Pam, and now, after marriage and kids there was a bit of a lull there, I think, for them about what they wanted to do. And the idea of Jim’s ambition was always one of my favorite things from the early seasons that it seemed like between Australia and trying to being the boss at corporate and NYC. And I think that all those things for me were really exciting that Jim always felt like there was something that he could be doing more of, and then I wanted to explore that.
The idea of him going to another city came from my brother actually. In his work at the beginning of his job, he was traveling a lot all over the country for all his different clients and it was definitely a strain on the family in a very new way. Obviously, not a strain that was as dramatic as what we did on the show, but it was a thing where sort of seemingly simple things like basic spending time with your children and in the same city was becoming more and more difficult, and just harder to do mentally.
And so for me, it was can you have this perfect relationship go through a split and keep it the same, which of course you can’t. And I said to Greg, “It would be really interesting to see how that split will affect two people that you know so well.” The exciting thing was to know that the audience would sort of take a guess at what Jim would do and what Pam would do, and so to run those numbers on this relationship was really, really interesting to me. Rather than introducing an affair or something like that. A huge credit to Greg and the writers, they’ve never gone the easy route. They’ve always gone the very realistic route and I’ve always really, really admired that.
Greg Daniels: Yeah, and I was just very attracted to the idea of doing something that would matter, and where people would feel very involved, and I think that there are a number of moments this year where, you really become involved in what’s happening. And in order to get that feeling of involvement there, you need some ups and downs.
This was great. Thank you! Going home to watch some old eps after work now!
Awesome! Thanks!
Ah, that 27 seconds of silence felt ground-breaking to me. Too much good stuff from this show.
Great great stuff! I feel however that I should curl into the fetal position on the floor imagining the empty office! :(
[from tanster: yeah. that was heartbreaking to hear.]
Great stuff! I always love cast/writer/director interviews! I’ve blocked out my entire day on May 16th! ;) haha!
Seeing their favorite episodes mentioned you can tell how magical Season 2 was. To this day I go back and watch chunks of it at a time.
The show had such a great knack for laugh-out-loud silliness grounded with legitimate drama – which it sorely misses these days.
One of the greatest seasons of scripted comedy tv ever.
Any hope for audio?
What a bummer to think the office is now empty :(
They should totally auction off some of the set props like they did after Seinfeld ended!!
I don’t know how to describe this feeling. Many shows of GREAT quality, greater quality, have come and gone with sadness at the departure.
This however, is truly a hollow feeling. I feel like the beat of my heart is echoing inside me because truly the one thing that my wife and I have shared from our first date till now, is over.
I feel the loss so potently. I’m your average white collar corporate type. 28yrs old. Would never know me as some kind of TV guy. Not like Stanley and his “mystery stories” or Kelly and her “Glee”
The office wasn’t my Seinfeld or sopranos, it was my date night. My dinner infront of the TV night. My cuddle with my wife and laugh night. The office is my funny bone and much like a funny bone, when it hurts, it’s not funny. I’m pained by the loss but appreciative. I only wish NBC would have given the office the lifespan of Law and Order SVU. Alas, I guess America likes Rape and pedophiles more than Oscar and the Senator or Angela and her Cats.
Goodbye my lover, goodbye my friend, you have been the one, you have been the one for me..
Oh gosh. Yeah, that last part was heartbreaking.
I realize this is an entirely unrelated thing to post, but now that I know Greg is so fond of lurking and reading the comments, I’m going for it:
Mr. Daniels, I was going through a box of old college paperwork a couple weeks ago and found one of my annual financial aid statements from a certain women’s college in the Pioneer Valley. I noticed a line item I’d never seen before and did some research on the name. And long story short, tell your parents thanks from a random fangirl for helping to make me the first out of seven kids to go to college. I’ll try to keep repaying the debt by buying DVD sets or something. :)
Now, the relevant stuff:
I really want to know where the Homer doll and Pam’s drawing of the building went! When I watch re-runs now, I keep finding myself wondering where certain things ended up. Like, there’s this sad little part of me that really wants Brian Baumgartner to have that blown-up photo of Michael and Jan at Sandals in a basement rec room.
See you all in Scranton this weekend. :)
I think a small piece of me died when I read that the set is already torn down. :(
The Office and its fantastic characters will live forever in my heart (and on my dvd shelf).
Nicely said gentleman.