Jen Celotta answers ‘Goodbye, Toby’ questions

Q. I was confused by Pam’s last talking head. Did she really expect Jim to propose following Andy’s spectacle? | Brooke

Jen: I think she was just really hoping for a proposal that night and was bummed that it didn’t happen.

Q. Did Steve and Amy have to practice their Yoda impressions? | Kevin

Jen: I don’t know how much they practiced their Yoda’s beforehand, but it was fun to watch them do it on the set — I love the look that Michael gives to Holly after she says “Pass curvy metal piece you will” — he is so surprised and delighted that this creature exists.

Paul wrote this scene and it was one of my favorites — I love how Michael is trying to not be impulsive — like when he asks what she’s doing this weekend and then immediately says he can’t do anything.

There was another scene that was cut for time where Holly does a Cookie Monster impression.

We were all big Amy Ryan fans, from “The Wire” and “Gone Baby Gone” and were so thrilled to get her to be our new HR woman — she’s so great and it was so much fun to watch Holly start to bond with Michael.

Q. The song playing when Jim is about to propose and is upstaged by Andy was (as you know) “Just My Imagination.” Is this choice indicative of Jim or of Andy? | Lisa

Jen: We wanted a song that sounded romantic and would serve as another cue (along with the ferris wheel, fireworks …) that would cause both Jim and Andy to choose that moment to propose. The actual words of the song were not intended to suggest anything.

Q. Why was there the need for the high-security surrounding the finale? After watching the episode, I’m trying to think of what, exactly, everyone wanted to keep under wraps … | Seriously

Jen: We wanted to keep some things under wraps — like Jan’s pregnancy. We shot that scene out in a supermarket not too far from our studio and we had some extra security so photos of a pregnant Jan wouldn’t somehow end up online.

Also, we wanted fans to be surprised by the other twists and turns — Ryan’s arrest, Andy’s proposal, the deep fried twinkies …

Q. Did you shoot any alternate endings? | Obama/Schrute

Jen: We shot 43 alternate endings and chose this one. I hope you liked the one we picked. Okay, no, we just shot this one. Without any alternate endings, the rough cut came in at around 72 minutes and we had to cut it down to 40 minutes.

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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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