Jen Celotta answers ‘Goodbye, Toby’ questions

Q. The YouTube video with Ryan — was that actually hosted on YouTube prior to the airdate of the episode, or was it just a computer mockup? | Evan

Jen: That video was set up on YouTube but as a private account. John accessed it when we were shooting so they were actually watching the video link on YouTube and then it was released to the public after it aired that night.

from tanster: that is one of the things I actually got to see during my set visit!

Q. Were there alternative questions in the Toby exit interview that you can share? | Jamey

Jen: No, there weren’t any alternative questions. But because you brought up this scene, I want to mention a moment that I like — something Jenna did in the scene — when Michael says “Who do you think you are?” and Toby says “I’m Toby” — I love that Pam scribbled something on her notebook!

I have to imagine she wrote down “He is Toby” or something like that. It made me laugh every time I saw it in the cut.

from tanster: here is what Jenna Fischer had to say:

Jenna: I wrote down “Who are you?” and then “Toby” and sometimes I wrote, “He is Toby.” I took notes as if I might have to transcribe the interview later.

Q. I was wondering if Michael’s line about Holly working at a bakery was a reference to the trailer that has been shown for the new ‘Get Smart’ movie? | Fire Guy!

Jen: No, it wasn’t a reference to ‘Get Smart.’ I love that talking head and it was written by Brent Forrester.

I don’t know if any of the writers have commented about this before — but we do something called “blitzes” — it’s when we have an area for a talking head, like “Michael’s feelings about Holly,” and we all go to our offices and come up with a bunch of talking heads on that theme.

Then we get together and go over them — sometimes we’ll have 20 or 30 talking heads on one idea and we’ll read them out loud and see which ones work the best. This bakery talking head was a result of a blitz and it’s one of my favorite things in the episode.

Q. If Jan wanted to have a “good shot” with her sperm-bank child and that’s why she didn’t “pick” Michael’s sperm, why did she invite him to Lamaze class with her? | Gracie

Jen: I think Jan is a complicated woman. While she doesn’t think of Michael as the ideal genetic father for her child, she cares about Michael and she’s drawn to his sweetness.

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49 comments

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1. 
   49. from himself, from the future  Mon. Jun. 2, 2008 | 3:28pm

   WOW. I promised myself I would not obsess about anything related to The Office until after my final exams…and it was a very rough few weeks, but OFFICETALLY MAKES IT ALL WORTH IT!!! It is so great to have such devoted fans (tanster) who will set up discussions with such amazing and talented writers. We are indeed very lucky fans : )
   Thanks again for all your willingness to share with us, and for giving me a nice happy light at the end of the tunnel of exam-taking!

2. 
   48. That's What She Said  Sun. Jun. 1, 2008 | 9:26pm

   Ahaha, that chair and trampoline leg made me laugh so hard!

3. 
   47. d.j.  Sat. May. 31, 2008 | 5:02pm

   Wow, I want to see the 73 minute rough cut! It’d be like a feature length version of The Office!

4. 
   46. chilistonite  Sat. May. 31, 2008 | 7:39am

   I have to admit that after the finale I was bitter about the lack of JAM nuptials - but reading Moses’ account of chair and trampoline leg just make me fall in love all over again. Thank you SO much Mike Schur!

5. 
   45. Brown Bear  Sat. May. 31, 2008 | 7:35am

   I do not normally laugh at stuff I read(I’m the type who finds the delivery of lines to be more amusing than the actual dialogue.) But wow, the “Chair” story definitely had me LOLing. Possibly even LMAOing.

6. 
   44. Lisa  Sat. May. 31, 2008 | 5:03am

   I am so excited and grateful that Jen answered my question. Thanks so much for doing all of this Tanster!

7. 
   43. Jessica  Fri. May. 30, 2008 | 9:48pm

   Wow the full finale was 70+ minutes long? I wonder what else we missed? DVD extra maybe??

8. 
   42. kat  Fri. May. 30, 2008 | 9:00pm

   holy gosh! Tanster, this is sooo awesome! I love how you put other tidbits from different castmembers!
   Thanks for all the effort you put into this website that satisfy my office craving!

9. 
   41. Jamey  Fri. May. 30, 2008 | 7:05pm

   Thanks Tanster for submitting my question! Thank you to Jen and Jenna for the response. It feels great to contribute.

10. 
    40. StephanieC  Fri. May. 30, 2008 | 6:50pm

    What great insight into the episode. Thanks for taking our questions Tanster, and thank you to the writers for answering them. :)

11. 
    39. MNFan  Fri. May. 30, 2008 | 6:35pm

    Thanks once again, Tanster, for putting this together. Also, BIG thanks to the awesome Jen Celotta (and guest contributors) for answering my question and all the rest! Craig, I think your band needs to book a gig in Minneapolis. ;)

    I have to agree with the earlier comment “It sounds silly, but this show brings a lot of joy to my life.” :)

12. 
    38. what's the dealio?  Fri. May. 30, 2008 | 5:49pm

    Goodbye Toby was so much fun to watch and rewatch, and it’s wonderful to learn about the making of it. These Q&As are so generous and just golden. Thanks so much! Jen Celotta can even make me laugh when she’s answering questions about an episode! No wonder the talking heads are always so great. The effort and care that goes into them is amazing.

13. 
    37. I like beets  Fri. May. 30, 2008 | 4:22pm

    Hahahahaha….”Chair”

14. 
    36. Tiffany  Fri. May. 30, 2008 | 2:51pm

    Thanks to the awesome input from Jen and the Office gang! And a special thanks to Tanster for organizing the Q&A! Office fans are so spoiled :)

    I was glad that they originally chose a badger… Go Wisconsin Badgers!!!

15. 
    35. jkfan9989  Fri. May. 30, 2008 | 2:06pm

    Big thanks to Tanster and Jen for these answers. It is so great that the writers do this for us fans.

    I literally do not know how I’m going to make it until Sept. 25th…

16. 
    34. spontaneous/dental/hydroplosion  Fri. May. 30, 2008 | 1:43pm

    Thank you so much everybody for a fantastic season finale and Q&A! This is one of my favorite features on the site and I have been eagerly awaiting these answers.

    I also enjoyed the recognition of Pam’s mad note taking skills - I started laughing so hard when she started writing after Toby’s answer to “Who do you think you are?”

17. 
    33. oaky afterbirth  Fri. May. 30, 2008 | 1:39pm

    THANK YOU!! i literally came to this site 10 times a day for this Q&A! you rock, TANSTER!!!

    btw, i hope they include the extended rough cut version of goodbye, toby on the DVD

18. 
    32. BlueJeanBaby  Fri. May. 30, 2008 | 1:19pm

    Jen, I feel the exact same way about deep fried Twinkies.

    Thanks Jen and Tanster. I absolutely love these Q&A’s!!

19. 
    31. Michelle  Fri. May. 30, 2008 | 12:59pm

    These Q&A’s are awesome! Thank you so much to Tanster, Jen, and all of the previous writers for doing this!

20. 
    30. nv  Fri. May. 30, 2008 | 12:42pm

    Thanks tanster, and also kudos to the Tallyheads for all these great questions (I haven’t been able to think of one yet!)

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