The Office writers at Paley Center

Q and A

Since I was moderating the event, I couldn’t take notes on it, so I humbly present the assorted recollections of the evening from Tallyheads liezl, Brooke, and Ryan:

What’s it like to watch a clip of The Office with an auditorium full of people?

Mike Schur was nervous watching with an audience. He remembered screening The Negotiation at the first Paley Fest they attended and being extra uncomfortable since he wrote it. He mentioned that even when he worked at SNL, he was too nervous to watch.

How has the writing specifically contributed to The Office’s success?

Greg talked about writing “behaviorial moments.” I agreed and mentioned that is why fans often watch episodes over and over again, to catch those small moments they might not have seen the first time around.

How do the writers determine who writes what episode? | J in Texas

Greg mentioned that it’s usually whichever writer had the original idea. A writer has to be excited about their episode. They try to think about universal office themes.

They said they couldn’t figure out how to do ‘Weight Loss’ for the longest time, but then Greg came up with the “8 weeks in one episode” idea and they made it work and were able to break down the show into smaller pieces. Of course in editing the pieces together, they screwed up on the continuity and the goatee-less Michael popped up. Oops.

There was a callback later in the evening that we would know the writers had nothing left if we ever saw these episode titles — “Blood Drive” and “Earth Day.”

“If you see an Earth Day episode, you’ll know we ran out of ideas.”

Do you feel the pressure to keep Jim and Pam an item because the fans love them so much together? | Veronique in Quebec

Greg didn’t want to say anything because he felt like the Federal Reserve Chairman when he talks about them. He doesn’t want anyone investing too much into what he says because it may not be as good or as bad as it sounds. He wants to keep them realistic but then another writer piped in that conflict is good for a TV show. They want to write Jim and Pam as what real people would do, not what the fans want.

They also talked about the Valentine’s Day show, and how people were upset when Jim didn’t give anything to Pam. Apparently, sides leaked out which had him giving her a present and when the episode aired and it didn’t happen, people were pissed. Meanwhile, the A story had Michael in NY and a cameo by Conan O’Brian and nobody seemed to care.

Mindy remembered the reaction to ‘The Injury.’ She thought it got a terrible reaction because it aired immediately after Booze Cruise and there was no JAM follow-up. People didn’t care about Michael’s grilled foot. Of course, now it’s a classic episode and beloved by all, so she feels redeemed, but at the time it sucked.

The writers definitely expressed a little frustration over fan focus on the Jim/Pam story “when Steve Carell is the star of the show.”

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109 comments

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1. 
   109. littlekidlover  Fri. Oct. 24, 2008 | 12:15pm

   Thanks for the report tanster! What a great experience that must have been for you (:
   On another note, I saw the link to the movie BJ will be in…it’s so intense, how did Mr.Comedy-Writer/Fire Guy get cast in that one?

2. 
   108. holly  Fri. Oct. 24, 2008 | 11:00am

   Sounds like paley was amazing! and thanks for the fancynewwhatever link! i read their recap and i felt like i was really there!

3. 
   107. Kaylie  Thu. Oct. 23, 2008 | 7:12pm

   Hey tanster,
   thanks so much! you were so great! and looked great too!
   i know bj was filming… but where was lee’s other half, gene?

   thanks!

   [from tanster: awww, thank you so much kaylie! gene got called away at the last minute. :( ]

4. 
   106. Laura  Thu. Oct. 23, 2008 | 12:29pm

   Jennie ~ thanks for the fabulous coverage! I wish I could’ve been there to cheer you on, but I’m so glad the evening went well. I’m sure you will always remember this experience. :) We’re so proud of you!

   [from tanster: thank you, laura! it was awesome. and it was nice looking down on my script every once in awhile and seeing the names of everyone who submitted questions. it was comforting. ;) ]

5. 
   105. Jason  Thu. Oct. 23, 2008 | 10:48am

   I’m tired of Holly. It’s time to send her away.

6. 
   104. Diana  Thu. Oct. 23, 2008 | 8:53am

   Thank you, Tanster! Your expression in the pic is priceless! Elation and nervousness all rolled into one.;) Good for you!

   (Also, I love JAM together, but I agree that they can be together without being the main focus of the show. My favorite moments are always the interaction between groups: Jim and Pam pulling a prank on Dwight and Michael or Michael annoying everyone and Phyllis snapping back, etc. )

7. 
   103. oh i like you  Wed. Oct. 22, 2008 | 8:58pm

   Thanks so much for the recap, Tanster! It was great to read answers to such interesting questions and not have to hear the usual (Yes, the actors improv some. Yes, some of us worked in an office. Gah!)

   I was a little concerned, however, at the Jim/Pam backlash I sensed. I would argue that the writers would best take the focus off Jim/Pam by just letting them be together and NOT drawing things out like they are now.

8. 
   102. Jenn  Wed. Oct. 22, 2008 | 4:09pm

   OHH SOO awesome!

   the gals over at fnw did a SUPER detailed recap of the event as well, from the audience perspective.

   thanks for linking up to them Tanster!

9. 
   101. Anthony  Wed. Oct. 22, 2008 | 3:37pm

   So glad the writers get frustrated that fans care more about the JAM plotline than Michael’s. Michael and the comedy aspect have always appealed more to me than the JAM drama and I don’t like how episodes are deemed “bad” by fans because it doesn’t have JAM moments.

10. 
    100. Sarah  Wed. Oct. 22, 2008 | 2:39pm

    Great Recap! And thanks for the Fancy New Whatever link! It’s got some great information about Paley and the mods. are super cute (:

11. 
    99. Ashley  Wed. Oct. 22, 2008 | 2:16pm

    I personally don’t think that any one character “is the show”. Every single character brings something special and unique :)

12. 
    98. Diapers Schrute  Wed. Oct. 22, 2008 | 2:14pm

    Awesome report, tanster! So worth the wait!

13. 
    97. sun  Wed. Oct. 22, 2008 | 2:03pm

    i sooooooooooooooooooo disagree with 95….. STEVE CARELL IS THE SHOW!

14. 
    96. Cash Basket  Wed. Oct. 22, 2008 | 1:45pm

    Thanks so much for this awesome entry!
    Sounds like it was an amazing evening with some amazing people:)

15. 
    95. Gregster  Wed. Oct. 22, 2008 | 11:52am

    While I enjoy disliking Michael aka Steve Carell. I had gone with that it was a full cast effort. I don’t see Steve as “the star”.

16. 
    94. Véronique  Wed. Oct. 22, 2008 | 11:19am

    I just finished reading the whole recap. It was so great, thank you so much Tanster! It must have been an amazing (and well deserved) experience for you.
    Charlie is a very good looking man…
    The top you were wearing was so cute, I want one!

    [from tanster: thanks! i love that top, too, and was bummed i had to throw a sweater over it at the last minute, but i was afraid i'd be too cold otherwise ...]

17. 
    93. The Tapeworm Inside Kelly  Wed. Oct. 22, 2008 | 11:05am

    Fantastic job Tanster! I bet that was a real dream come true. Excellent Q&A and pics.

    That first picture, it looks like Paul is touching Mindy in a weird way. :)

18. 
    92. ridit-dit-didoo  Wed. Oct. 22, 2008 | 10:59am

    How awesome that they asked for you specifically!

19. 
    91. Nader  Wed. Oct. 22, 2008 | 9:56am

    Is BJ Novak not a writer anymore? Maybe you mentioned this but I didn’t see it. I’d be sad.

    [from tanster: B.J. was in Berlin filming Inglourious Basterds.]

20. 
    90. Beth  Wed. Oct. 22, 2008 | 9:49am

    Thanks for the links Tanster! They’re all really great. I’ve never been to the fancy new whatever site, and it’s really cool! :)

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