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Episode: Webisodes: The Accountants
Author: Audacy & Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey
Duration: 01:13:18
Episode Shownotes
This week we’re breaking down “The Accountants” Webisodes! During the run of “The Office”, some of the Dunder Mifflin cast made short videos for NBC.com and this included the award-winning 10 episode series “The Accountants” that starred Oscar Nuñez, Brian Baumgartner and our very own Angela Kinsey! The accountants detect
an accounting error and must figure out who embezzled $3,000. Jenna points out how these webisodes were the catalyst to streaming content, Angela talks about winning an Emmy and Webby for this series and the ladies point out some never-before-seen areas in the office. So don’t let Kevin steal your coat and sell it on ebay! Instead, enjoy this episode. Watch “The Accountants” webisodes HERE Submit your Question and/or Fan Theory about the Scranton Strangler HERE Check out Office Ladies Merch at Podswag: https://www.podswag.com/collections/office-ladies
Office Ladies Website - Submit a fan question: https://officeladies.com/submitaquestion
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Summary
In this episode of the Office Ladies podcast, Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey delve into the 'The Accountants' webisodes, which explore the comedic investigation of a $3,000 embezzlement error by Dunder Mifflin's accountants. They share behind-the-scenes stories about the production process during 'The Office' hiatus, discuss their Emmy and Webby wins, and how these webisodes marked a significant milestone in digital content, paving the way for streaming formats. The conversation also touches on character dynamics, humorous moments, and insights into the evolving landscape of digital content compensation.
Go to PodExtra AI's episode page (Webisodes: The Accountants) to play and view complete AI-processed content: summary, mindmap, topics, takeaways, transcript, keywords and highlights.
Full Transcript
00:00:00 Speaker_05
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Klarna balance account required. Klarna may get a commission. Limitations, terms, and conditions apply. I'm Jenna Fisher. And I'm Angela Kinsey. We were on The Office together. And we're best friends.
00:02:31 Speaker_05
And now we're doing the ultimate Office Lovers podcast just for you.
00:02:35 Speaker_07
Each week we will dive deeper into the world of The Office with exclusive interviews, behind-the-scenes details, and lots of BFF stories. We're the Office Ladies 6.0.
00:02:47 Speaker_05
Hello. Hey there. Are you ready to break down The Office webisodes, The Accountants? I'm so ready.
00:02:56 Speaker_07
I loved re-watching these. It was so fun. I texted Brian Baumgartner this morning and I said, Brian, watching these webisodes is making me miss you so much, buddy. Aw. We just had such a good time. And of course, Oscar too.
00:03:10 Speaker_07
And the three of us have got to get together. We have our accountant's dinner, you know. Yeah. So we've got to get it back on the books.
00:03:17 Speaker_05
Well, these were written by Paul Lieberstein and Mike Schur, and they were directed by Randall Einhorn. This was his directorial debut. Yes, it was so exciting. I'm going to give you a summary. Do it.
00:03:32 Speaker_05
The accountants discover that there is $3,000 missing from the company money. Everyone is a suspect as they interrogate their co-workers to find the missing funds. Everyone is on Angela's list. Well, not everyone. Well, maybe. Not Roy or Dwight.
00:03:50 Speaker_05
Dwight, there's two, two missing. Guess what? I'm going to give you three fast facts today. It's a rewatch breakdown. Wait, I'm sorry. Excuse me? I can't get rid of them. Excuse me? I'm trying so hard. They will not die. Just lean into the shit you love, lady.
00:04:11 Speaker_05
All right, fast fact number one. The Accountants webisodes were originally released on July 13th, 2016 between Seasons 2 and Seasons 3 on NBC.com. This was their way of keeping office viewers engaged over the summer hiatus. They were 10 mini episodes.
00:04:34 Speaker_05
Each one is about two or three minutes in length. And on July 13th, they released the first two on the same day, but then they spaced them out. You had to wait to see the next ones.
00:04:47 Speaker_05
You can currently see them on YouTube and also as a special feature on the season two DVD. Yes, it's disc four, everybody. And they're on Peacock as well. Well, The Accountants was the first series of webisodes.
00:05:01 Speaker_05
We end up doing more of these in the future. But these were the first. They were groundbreaking. I'm going to get into that a little more in Fast Fact Number 3. But Angela, we had some fan questions for you. OK.
00:05:16 Speaker_05
The first one is from Amanda G. in Northern Ireland, who said, how did these episodes come about? And we also heard from Bria D. in Philly. who said, what was your reaction to finding out you guys were going to do these webisodes?
00:05:31 Speaker_07
I remember they reached out to us, and I don't know if they reached out to everyone, but I know they reached out to me and Brian and Oscar, and they were talking about doing these little things for NBC.com.
00:05:44 Speaker_07
So I remember talking to the folks in the digital department, and they were saying, you know, we think this would be really fun to do. And I was like, sure, great. And I was also very excited to have a bigger storyline with the accountants. Yeah.
00:05:59 Speaker_07
You know, we had our running joke, right, that we would do all these bits in the corner. They would never make it in. And I know I've talked about this, that we sort of joked that we had a spinoff, but it was on Telemundo.
00:06:11 Speaker_07
And Oscar said it was called Los Acantadores. Ángela, Oscar, y Kevin. So now here we finally get to have a whole episode, sort of, right, about the accountants.
00:06:25 Speaker_05
OK, are you ready for fast fact number two? I am. This is a fan question from Sarah M. in Pennsylvania, who said, were the webisodes filmed on the same day as other episodes, or did the cast come in specifically to film them?
00:06:40 Speaker_05
Well, Sarah, guess who I reached out to? Blast from the past, Kentopedia.
00:06:47 Speaker_07
Kentopedia, and then you also reached out to Angelopedia. I did.
00:06:54 Speaker_05
Let me tell you what I found out because Kent explained a little bit about how these were produced from his point of view. And I'm sure you can confirm a lot of these details, Angela. He said y'all came in on a hiatus week. Yeah. It was in March.
00:07:09 Speaker_05
It took two days to film all 10 webisodes and that they were filmed on March 2nd and March 3rd. Yes.
00:07:16 Speaker_07
And those were our days off. So when we came to set that day, there was no one there. It was kind of wild. It was like when you go to school, like after school extracurriculars, and there's no one in the building.
00:07:29 Speaker_05
Oh yeah, I saw the crew call sheet. Very small crew. In fact, not only was Randall Einhorn the director of this episode, but he was also the cinematographer and the camera operator, and there was only one camera. Is that true?
00:07:46 Speaker_07
That's true. Randall did all of that, and then we had one sound person. It was Ben Patrick. I saw that too. And they were on stage with us, but that was pretty much it.
00:07:58 Speaker_05
Well, here are the actors who were there both days. It was you, Oscar, Brian, Kate, Phyllis, and Leslie.
00:08:08 Speaker_05
And I really noticed when I was rewatching these how Randall had to get very creative in how he shot things to avoid showing how empty the desks were in the bullpen because the whole cast was not there.
00:08:20 Speaker_07
Yes, you're going to see a point of view from the camera that you do not see on the show that airs every week. And I loved seeing it. I love seeing this different perspective of the office.
00:08:30 Speaker_05
I felt like there were so many angles that we did not normally see on The Office. Yeah. I got very interested in tracking how Randall was able to shoot things without seeing through certain windows or into the bullpen.
00:08:46 Speaker_05
And also I was tracking how exactly he used Leslie, Kate, and Phyllis in the background of things. Strategically. Yes.
00:08:56 Speaker_07
Well, I texted Randall and I said, Randall, I don't know if I ever thanked you for what a wonderful gift it was getting to do these webisodes because it was such a big deal to us and he made it so fun and it looks fantastic and I really think they hold up.
00:09:14 Speaker_05
Well, we got this fan question for you, Angela, and it's kind of about the process of filming.
00:09:19 Speaker_05
It's from Ryan T. in Aston, Pennsylvania, who said, Angela, what was your favorite part of filming this series, and how was it different from filming the actual show? I guess maybe besides the very small crew, was there anything else?
00:09:33 Speaker_07
I just loved getting to have a whole day with Oscar and Brian. We had so many silly bits that we had made up already those few seasons together, like our little accounting dynamics that we would play out that rarely made it to the light of day.
00:09:51 Speaker_07
But we were doing them in the background, you know? And just to have a day where we showed up and we got to just play all day together, it was the best.
00:10:01 Speaker_07
And I feel like when I rewatched it, I was remembering so many things I'm excited to share with you guys. All right.
00:10:08 Speaker_05
Are you ready for fast fact number three? I am. Fast fact number three is called Very Successful. It was. These webisodes received millions of views on NBC.com. They broke the mold.
00:10:28 Speaker_05
They invented, in many ways, this idea of supplemental content for streaming or for websites.
00:10:36 Speaker_07
Yes. You know, I had been emailing Joya Balfour, who helped us so much. She worked for NBC Digital. And she said the accountants was really when NBC saw that digital content for the office had a ton of potential.
00:10:51 Speaker_05
It's not just NBC that realized it. Kent said that after the success of the webisodes, he was contacted by almost every production executive from every studio asking how we did it. Wow. But not only that, the webisodes won two awards.
00:11:10 Speaker_05
They won a Webby Award for Video Comedy Short Form and an Emmy for Outstanding Broadband Program Comedy. Angela, what was that experience like? You won an Emmy. I know.
00:11:23 Speaker_07
Well, I thought to really have that experience, we should have the Emmy here with us today.
00:11:29 Speaker_05
What? You brought it? Oh, my gosh. I see this in your house all the time. And I, oh, my gosh. I love it, lady. It's very large. Wow. That is so awesome.
00:11:47 Speaker_07
There you go.
00:11:48 Speaker_05
Can I see it? I want to hold it. Yeah.
00:11:51 Speaker_07
Watch out. The wings are really pointy. They're very pointy.
00:11:55 Speaker_05
Well, the only time I got to hold an Emmy was when our show won an Emmy in season two. I did not get to keep it. I got to hold it for the pictures and then give it back. And it has your name on it. I know. Mm-hmm.
00:12:14 Speaker_07
That is f***ing rad. Well, I thought I would read to you what it says on my Emmy. Yes. It says, 2006 to 2007 Daytime Entertainment Emmy Awards, Outstanding Broadband Program Comedy, The Office, Accountants, NBC, Angela Kinsey, Performer.
00:12:35 Speaker_07
So freaking cool.
00:12:37 Speaker_05
Oh, it's heavy. So who all was at the ceremony? Who'd you get to celebrate with? Was Randall there? What was that night like?
00:12:44 Speaker_07
Well, first of all, we couldn't believe we had been nominated for an Emmy for the webisodes. We didn't even know there was a category for that. We really were so just surprised and excited just because they were nominated.
00:12:58 Speaker_07
And I remember a big group of us went with the NBC Digital team, and none of us were prepared to give a speech. None of us wrote anything. We didn't think we would win. We just were so excited to go.
00:13:11 Speaker_07
And lady, I do have a journal entry I wrote in my journal about my outfit for the night. Would you like to hear it?
00:13:19 Speaker_05
Really?
00:13:19 Speaker_07
Of course I would. Yes, I wrote in my journal. Sam, you're gonna love this. Ready? Okay. I found a dress for the daytime Emmys, exclamation point. Woo-hoo, exclamation point. And it doesn't need to be altered. Double woo-hoo.
00:13:39 Speaker_07
I got it at Arden Bee in the mall. It's a black and white beaded mini dress. I don't have shoes yet. Wish me luck with that. Who's it to? Who's wishing me luck you guys? Is this a letter home or it's just your journal? It's just my journal about it. Okay.
00:13:55 Speaker_07
And then I had a bunch, I have a bunch of pictures. So I have a bunch of stuff. Okay. And then I said, also, I wore a black and white dress to the other Emmys last year. What's up with me and black and white dresses? Are you doing bits?
00:14:09 Speaker_07
Double question mark. Double question mark. We'll fill you in after. And then I never wrote again, after. You never let yourself know how it went.
00:14:22 Speaker_05
We'll fill you in.
00:14:23 Speaker_07
Did you get shoes? I don't know. We don't know. I don't know. I don't know if I got shoes. But my dress was from Art and B in the mall. So when we won, we really were, it's like that moment, it sounds like a cliche where you're like, what?
00:14:38 Speaker_07
I can't believe it. And the three of us went up, Brian, Oscar and me. And I think we sort of stumbled through an acceptance speech. And then we went to this party afterwards. There was like a rooftop patio and we took a bunch of press pictures.
00:14:53 Speaker_07
Jenna, in all of the pictures, even with the big group, with the big team of NBC Digital, I'm holding the Emmy. I'm always the one holding the Emmy. I'm like, did I not let anyone else hold it?
00:15:03 Speaker_07
And at one, I lift it high over my head and I thought, oh no, please don't take anyone out like I did with Phyllis and Steve's Golden Globe. That's your favorite thing. I guess it's knocking someone with a trophy.
00:15:17 Speaker_07
It was such, such a fun night, and I just remember it just being such a highlight of my time in the office.
00:15:25 Speaker_05
Well, you mentioned that we've been talking with Brian Baumgartner because he's going to be a guest on an upcoming episode.
00:15:32 Speaker_05
But we ended up also chatting with him about the webisodes, and he sent in an audio clip of his memories of doing the webisodes and of that Emmy night. Let's listen.
00:15:42 Speaker_01
I remember that first webisode series, The Accountants, being so much fun. Angela and Oscar, of course, and I getting to really play for the first time and almost being stars of our own show there for a few days with the rest of the gang mostly gone.
00:16:04 Speaker_01
I remember having such a great time. When we eventually won the Emmy for that series, I remember that being one of the most fun nights.
00:16:15 Speaker_01
Angela, you and Oscar and I having a party that night when we won the Emmy, well, it's one of my favorite and most fondest memories of our outside life while we were filming the show.
00:16:33 Speaker_07
Aw, same! I have so many fun pictures from that night, too, that I can share. That's when Jenna and I got bangs! Oh, really? Yeah. I'm sure that's a journal entry. Go look for her. That was a big swing for me. I got bangs.
00:16:49 Speaker_07
And did you guys also go to a ceremony when you won the Webby? Well, actually, I'm not sure why, but Brian and Oscar weren't able to go. I can't remember why, but I did.
00:16:59 Speaker_07
I went there with Joya from NBC Digital, and I accepted on behalf of the accountants the Webby.
00:17:06 Speaker_05
OK.
00:17:06 Speaker_07
Did you wear your same dress? I did. I wore a different dress. I don't know. I don't have any journal entry about this dress. It's just a little black dress. And you know how at the Webby's you can only say five words for your acceptance speech?
00:17:19 Speaker_05
Yes.
00:17:20 Speaker_07
You remember this because we won a Webby in 2022. The Office Ladies is a Webby's People's Voice winner in podcast, television, and film. Do you remember what our acceptance speech was?
00:17:33 Speaker_05
I believe it ended with, that's what she said. Yes, it did. And I found it. But what was the first word?
00:17:42 Speaker_07
Here we are. Speechless. That's what she said. There it is. Well, I was curious. I was like, what did I say? What were my five words? I couldn't remember. And I knew it was like something about accounting. And I reached out to Joya.
00:17:57 Speaker_07
And she said, Angela, I remember. I have it here. And she sent it to me. Our acceptance speech was, accounting is such a riot. And I said it just like that with my snarky Angela Martin face.
00:18:11 Speaker_05
Amazing. So there you go. Well, something I think we should share is that you all filmed these for free. Mike and Paul wrote these for free. And yes, you won two awards, but you have never received any compensation for these webisodes.
00:18:31 Speaker_05
And NBC continues to monetize them on YouTube and Peacock. You do not receive residuals on them. And that is because this was what we were saying before. This was all new territory. It was originally seen as marketing and publicity for the show. Yeah.
00:18:49 Speaker_05
But after their success, You know, our unions, SAG and WGA, started to rethink how actors should be compensated for creating original content outside of the normal network broadcast.
00:19:05 Speaker_05
I mean, the success of the webisodes really brought into focus all the ways that talent could become exploited if we didn't get some guardrails on this new medium. That's right. That's right. I think that's kind of a cool thing that our show did.
00:19:24 Speaker_05
Yeah, I do too. We know people think that we sit around collecting millions of dollars a year on residuals from the office. And we don't. We do not receive residuals on Peacock or Netflix or any of the streamers. We never have.
00:19:43 Speaker_05
And that is because all of our contracts predated streaming. It literally did not exist. There was no language in our unions or in our contracts for how we would be compensated for it.
00:19:55 Speaker_07
Digital content was so new when we started the show. I mean, clearly it was brand new.
00:20:00 Speaker_05
Yes. Anyway, I would like to thank the webisodes for kicking off that conversation for artists everywhere.
00:20:08 Speaker_07
I love that. Well, Jenna, just to wrap this up really quickly before we get into the breakdown. If you'll notice, I just brought in my Emmy. I didn't bring in the Webby. Yeah. Because the Webby, I think, went to NBC Digital.
00:20:23 Speaker_07
Like, I didn't leave New York with a Webby. OK. But when we won this daytime Emmy, they handed us this one Emmy to hold as we did our stuff.
00:20:32 Speaker_05
The photo op Emmy.
00:20:33 Speaker_07
The photo op Emmy. And I just said, I'm going to take it home. And they were like, what? And I was like, yeah, I'm going to take it home, and then you should send Brian and Oscar one, too.
00:20:42 Speaker_07
And there was this look, there was this moment where they were like, um, that's not really your, uh, and I was like, thank you. Bye.
00:20:49 Speaker_05
Lady, I love that. I love that you did that. You are like, I am not going to walk up on an Emmy stage again. Because we didn't get one when we won the show. No, none of the performers got it. It went to the producers.
00:21:01 Speaker_07
Yeah, so I went home with the trophy. It had no writing on it. And a few weeks later, in the mail, I got the plaque that went around it. I don't think I was meant to get this to take home. I think it's supposed to be on a shelf somewhere at NBC.
00:21:16 Speaker_05
Well, it's not. It's on our podcasting table right now. And Brian and Oscar got one, too. Well done. Well, those are our fast facts. Why don't we take a break? And we will get into our breakdown with episode number one, The Books Don't Balance.
00:21:31 Speaker_05
They all have titles. I love them all. I know, me too. This segment is brought to you by Macy's. Angela, do you know how Michael would always leave things to like the last minute?
00:21:50 Speaker_05
Like in health care, he waits until the last minute to pick a health care plan and he promises us a big surprise at the end of the day. But then all we get are some melted ice cream sandwiches. Exactly.
00:22:01 Speaker_05
Well, I do not want to be the Michael Scott of the holidays this year. That's a good plan. I do not want to wait to the last minute and give lame gifts. No. In fact, I am really getting ahead this year.
00:22:14 Speaker_05
And thanks to Macy's early Black Friday deals, I am stocking up on gifts for everyone at really great prices.
00:22:22 Speaker_07
Well, you know I am too. You guys, Office Ladies is so excited to partner with Macy's this holiday. The Macy's gift guide is amazing. Amazing. Amazing. So many great gift suggestions and we've even opened up our own Macy's storefront. It's so cute.
00:22:39 Speaker_07
We've picked some great gifts.
00:22:41 Speaker_05
We have wonderful suggestions for you for the holidays. So part of getting ready for the holidays is also getting myself ready. And Angela, you know me. At the holidays, I have a stack of ugly Christmas sweaters. You do. That is my go-to.
00:22:55 Speaker_05
But this year, I really wanted to up my holiday fashion game. You're very excited about this.
00:23:01 Speaker_05
I have a lot to celebrate this year, and I wanted a little dazzle, I wanted a little something sophisticated, and I found the coolest DKNY black sequined bomber jacket on Macy's.com. I just love it. I can wear it with a sweater.
00:23:18 Speaker_05
And then I put it with like this green satin button down. It was very Christmassy. I wore it to a bar mitzvah. I can wear it at New Year's. And lady, it's actually pretty warm. I mean, it's not for the snow or something, right?
00:23:33 Speaker_05
But it's perfect in the evenings, you know, when it gets chilly in California.
00:23:37 Speaker_07
Well, when you tried it on, I said, lady, this is a showstopper. You look so cute in it.
00:23:42 Speaker_05
It is a showstopper. And I think you can wear it like a blazer, like you can wear it inside. So I put it in our storefront, and you're also going to link to it in our Office Ladies Pod Stories this week. I am.
00:23:54 Speaker_07
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00:24:11 Speaker_07
I had never heard of that. I didn't even know they made bedding.
00:24:13 Speaker_05
Yes.
00:24:14 Speaker_07
So here's the deal. Macy's has several Ugg comforters. They're all so cozy. I bought one for Josh and I's bed, and now the kids want one too. They come in several colors. You can have them for the holidays or year round.
00:24:26 Speaker_07
I'm going to put it in our storefront as well. I'll link to it in stories. I'm just so happy about it. Because not only is it cozy, but it looks nice.
00:24:35 Speaker_05
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00:24:47 Speaker_05
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00:25:00 Speaker_07
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00:25:34 Speaker_05
Shop our favorites this holiday season directly from our gift guide storefront by visiting the link in our Instagram bio at officeladiespod.
00:25:42 Speaker_07
Yes, that's officeladiespod on Instagram, and I'll put a link in our stories too.
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00:27:46 Speaker_05
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00:27:50 Speaker_07
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00:28:08 Speaker_05
Here we go, episode one, The Books Don't Balance. We open on Jan, Oscar, Angela, and Brian in the conference room. Angela delivers the news that they've discovered about $3,000 missing.
00:28:24 Speaker_07
Jan suggests this might be an accounting error, and Angela's like, it is not an accounting error. It's not her accounting error, at least.
00:28:33 Speaker_05
Don't bring that BS my way, Jan. She gives a little glare to Kevin, and we cut to his talking head where he says, this is the first time hearing about it. He's not heard of the accounting error.
00:28:45 Speaker_05
He says nobody ever tells him anything, and he likes it that way.
00:28:48 Speaker_07
He likes it that way, although later we find out he's so excited to be a part of this.
00:28:52 Speaker_05
And angry that he's never allowed to write memos.
00:28:56 Speaker_07
Exactly. Jan says they need to find the missing money, ASAP. You know, they want to ensure there's been no criminal activity. I have an improv moment for you. I bet I know what it is. When Angela says, Michael said to stop by on your way out. I knew it.
00:29:16 Speaker_07
You know my sort of improv voice now so well. Again, I strategically put it at the very end, hoping it would make it.
00:29:22 Speaker_05
Well, Angela, you just made someone very happy. We got a fan letter from Maria F. in Brazil who wanted to know if there were any jokes or scenes that were improvised or if it was all scripted. And Maria also said, I really love The Office.
00:29:36 Speaker_05
Angela is my favorite character.
00:29:38 Speaker_07
Oh, Maria, thank you. Big hugs to Brazil. I'm loving it. Well, Maria, here's the thing. These were written really well, but we did have little moments, and I'll share those with you as we go.
00:29:49 Speaker_07
But the thing I also love is that when I improvised that line, Melora is Jan's reaction was so perfect. I knew I was setting her up for a great reaction, and that's always fun to do.
00:30:00 Speaker_05
I thought the other brilliant thing about it, Ange, was that you were also setting up the world beyond the conference room. I mean, you knew it was empty out there. Oh, yeah. But you were filling it in.
00:30:12 Speaker_05
It was nice to imagine that Michael was in his office. Oh, yeah. Thank you. Well, Oscar's going to have a talking head where he said it's probably Michael, because every time money has gone missing, it's been Michael's fault.
00:30:25 Speaker_07
I love that he says he goes out with clients for lunch, and then it's a $50 receipt to J. Crew.
00:30:31 Speaker_05
I'm surprised to find out that Michael shops at J.Crew.
00:30:34 Speaker_07
Oh, that is true. Oscar and Angela both say, you know, listen, we've gone over our book so many times. There's not an accounting error. And then Kevin says, well, I wonder if anyone bought anything really nice recently. And then Angela's so snarky.
00:30:48 Speaker_07
She looks at Oscar and goes, nice watch, Oscar. Where'd that come from? And he's like, you know what? From my grandfather. He gave it to me when he died, and she said, well, I haven't seen it before. He must have died recently. I know. That's so mean.
00:31:03 Speaker_07
I know, and he's like, he did three weeks ago. Good, Angela. OK, I have another improv moment for you. OK. When Kevin sympathetically reaches across the table to hold Oscar's hand, that was not scripted. Brian improvised that.
00:31:17 Speaker_05
It was a nice touch.
00:31:18 Speaker_07
Wasn't it? I love that these little webisodes each have a button on the end.
00:31:23 Speaker_05
All right, webisode number two. This one is titled Phyllis. In their search for the missing $3,000, the accountants are going to meet with Phyllis.
00:31:34 Speaker_05
Angela has a talking head where she says Michael is the obvious suspect, but since he's the boss, they have to at least pretend to look at other people first. This begins the recap nature of the webisodes. You will notice.
00:31:50 Speaker_05
Even though they all flow together, they also still had to stand alone, which meant every episode, someone had to recap the plot. Someone had to tell us.
00:32:00 Speaker_07
$3,000 is missing.
00:32:02 Speaker_05
And everyone is a suspect. In this one, it was your job, Ange.
00:32:08 Speaker_07
Well, Oscar's going to ask Phyllis if she bought anything with company money, and she looks down guilty. Angela's like, I knew it. Phyllis explains that she broke the heel on her shoe while at a corporate sales call. I just love that back story.
00:32:22 Speaker_05
I know.
00:32:23 Speaker_07
I just loved it. And she used the company card. She apologizes. It was $14. And then what happens next, to me, it's only 20 seconds, but it perfectly sums up the accounting dynamic. I think we need to hear it.
00:32:38 Speaker_06
My boyfriend, Bob Vance from Vance Refrigeration, gave me a Vance refrigeration credit card, only for emergencies.
00:32:45 Speaker_10
an emergency like you have an ice cream cake and you're in the sun and it's melting.
00:32:51 Speaker_06
You don't use it to buy refrigerators, Kevin.
00:32:54 Speaker_10
Don't yell at me.
00:32:57 Speaker_07
Okay. 20 seconds, and I thought it summed up the accounting department so well. They did write to your dynamic very well in that moment.
00:33:04 Speaker_05
Well, we got this fan question from Christine D. in Los Angeles who said, was it scripted for Phyllis to scoot away in her chair after being questioned? Because it really made me laugh out loud.
00:33:17 Speaker_07
no it was not in the script it just said she leaves yeah that is something we completely found on the day phyllis started to scooch away in her chair we thought it was hilarious and and it just it became part of the scene well if you think about how far she has to go i mean it's not like she's
00:33:38 Speaker_07
scoot she has to scoot on that chair like around another desk to get back to her spot so far but again by doing this little joke meant that randall didn't have to see the bullpen yep she doesn't walk away the camera doesn't follow her instead she's scooching in her chair it's perfect
00:33:57 Speaker_07
Next up is episode three. It's titled Meredith. The accountants are now questioning Meredith in the kitchen regarding the missing money. In the kitchen, and you notice the camera is shooting toward the annex. Yeah.
00:34:12 Speaker_07
We got a fan question from Tiffany L. in Wisconsin. Tiffany says at 3 minutes and 34 seconds when Angela says, idiot, now we don't have the element of surprise, that sounded very much like something Dwight would say. Was that a nod to Dwight?
00:34:27 Speaker_07
Tiffany, I thought the same thing. I actually thought this whole speech was very Dwight. Here's how it would have gone on in the script.
00:34:35 Speaker_07
It's impossible to trap her, and we won't be able to register the look on her face when we ask her if she stole $3,000. Angela whips her head over to Meredith, hoping to notice something. Meredith says, you think I stole $3,000?
00:34:47 Speaker_07
Angela says, oh, we know you did. Or someone else did.
00:34:52 Speaker_05
This does sound like dialogue Dwight could say. Right? It does.
00:34:56 Speaker_07
He would try to say something shocking and then read your reaction. Very Dwight.
00:35:01 Speaker_05
Well now, thanks to the webisodes, we are finally going to learn some information about Meredith. Lauren K. from Columbus, Ohio, noticed and said, we finally know about Meredith's second child. Her name is Wendy. And Meredith's ex-husband took her.
00:35:19 Speaker_05
Yeah, Meredith says he got the good one. Oh, Meredith. Meredith. Meredith is gonna swear she would never steal any company money. She would not jeopardize her kid. She just wants to know if anyone wants to grab a beer, basically. Yeah, a Red Stripe.
00:35:37 Speaker_05
It's like 11 in the morning.
00:35:38 Speaker_07
I loved Kate's delivery when, as Meredith, she says, so that's too early.
00:35:44 Speaker_05
I have never felt so shamed as the time that we had some people over to swim at our house and we were gonna do like a noon barbecue and I offered this other mom a glass of wine. It's a barbecue. It's a weekend barbecue. I thought that was okay.
00:36:00 Speaker_05
And she said, it's not even noon. And I was like, well, the food's gonna come out soon. And I really, still to this day, I feel so embarrassed. I'm like, was that? What does she think of me? She was like someone we didn't know well and... Oh, who cares?
00:36:18 Speaker_05
Who cares what she thinks?
00:36:20 Speaker_07
Well, I was Meredith in that moment. You are no Meredith. I barely drank. I know. Let me tell you, that lady couldn't hang with my tennis gals.
00:36:32 Speaker_05
I didn't think it was so weird. I was like, what's the difference between having a glass of wine with your barbecue that's coming out? On the weekend, by the pool.
00:36:43 Speaker_07
There are circumstances here at play.
00:36:45 Speaker_05
having like a Bloody Mary or a mimosa with breakfast. I mean, I've never done that because that feels early to me. I don't understand that. I can't hair of the dog, whatever that is. I can't have that at like 10 a.m. or whatever. Right, I get that.
00:37:04 Speaker_07
This is the same way I feel about, you know, a pastry in the morning. How is, let's say, a little piece of coffee cake any different than a muffin.
00:37:17 Speaker_05
Well, it's not. And it's why you'll have a full-on piece of pie with breakfast. Yes, I will. Oh, I can't wait. I know. It's almost time, lady. There's going to be all this extra pie in your house so soon.
00:37:31 Speaker_07
The only thing I ever ask for for my birthday and for Christmas is a chocolate meringue pie. My husband makes the best chocolate meringue pie. Look, I have to curse because it's that good.
00:37:42 Speaker_05
And I will have a piece for breakfast.
00:37:44 Speaker_07
I do. Or I just get out the pie pan and stand in the pantry with a fork and eat it. Sorry, I got a little excited there.
00:37:56 Speaker_05
Where are we? Well, bottom line is Meredith didn't do it. Meredith did not do it. We're on to episode number four called Stanley.
00:38:04 Speaker_07
Yes, we're back in the conference room. The accountants are questioning Stanley regarding the missing money.
00:38:09 Speaker_05
He is delighted by this. Kevin is going to have our recap talking head, where he explains what's going on. And then Oscar tells Stanley, listen, I know it's not you, but I have to ask anyway. And Stanley says he hopes whoever did it gets away with it.
00:38:26 Speaker_07
I know. Stanley says, in fact, if he finds out who it is, he's going to shake their hand, pat them on the back, and give them 72 hours to flee the country before telling us who it is. That made me laugh. I'm like,
00:38:39 Speaker_05
I love that he has a whole exit strategy for this person. I really noticed the tight angles on this particular scene. Randall was working very hard to avoid shooting through the window to the bullpen. When Leslie, as Stanley, gets up to leave,
00:38:57 Speaker_05
You do see Kate sitting at her desk in the background. And it's fast because the whole rest of the bullpen is just empty.
00:39:07 Speaker_07
As Stanley leaves the room, Kevin says, I don't think it was him. And Angela says, really, genius? This leads to a Kevin talking head that I loved, and I think we need to hear it.
00:39:17 Speaker_09
Angela thinks it's an insult when she calls me a genius, all sarcastic and whatnot. But technically, guess what? I am a genius. When I was a kid, I took an IQ test, and I scored over 100. So joke is on you, Angela.
00:39:41 Speaker_07
We're finding out all these things about the background characters on the show, and that's one of the things I love about the webisodes. Yes. And you know what? When we were texting with Brian, he shared with us a story about shooting this talking head.
00:39:52 Speaker_07
It's really fun. I want you to hear it.
00:39:56 Speaker_01
So here's my favorite story from the Accountants webisode series. By the way, Angela, Jenna, audience listening, I just arrived, no joke, back into Scranton, Pennsylvania. I am at the Rad, the Radisson Hotel. I've arrived here.
00:40:15 Speaker_01
I'm very, very excited to be back and now to be talking to you guys about The accountants, here's my story. We're filming. No one else is on set. Me, you, Angela, and Oscar, we are recording.
00:40:31 Speaker_01
And I'm recording a talking head, a direct address to the camera. And we're in the annex. My back was to the room with the snacks and by Toby's desk.
00:40:44 Speaker_01
And I'm recording a talking head, and I'm talking to the camera, and just behind the camera, I see, as we're recording, Greg Daniels walk by, and I see my old friend from high school, Ed Helms, walk by the camera.
00:40:59 Speaker_01
Now, in that moment, I'm not thinking, oh, There's Ed Helms, star of The Daily Show, comedian and actor. My brain didn't go there. My brain went back to high school in Atlanta, Georgia. I was like, Ed Helms? Why is my old buddy Ed Helms?
00:41:20 Speaker_01
on the office set. Come to find out he was there meeting with Greg. He had a deal with NBC and he was meeting with Greg about joining the office in season three. This was his, like, introductory meeting with Greg Daniels.
00:41:36 Speaker_01
So I saw him, gave him a hug, and remember saying so specifically, why are you here? Which, in retrospect, it was very embarrassing.
00:41:49 Speaker_07
That is so crazy. Isn't that so wild? And I totally hear that. You know when you see someone completely out of contact? Yes. And you can't connect the dots? Yes.
00:41:59 Speaker_07
I just thought that was so wild to see your old high school friend all of a sudden at your place of work. You're like, what? What's happening?
00:42:05 Speaker_05
Well, we also got several fan questions about Kevin's talking head, where he's talking about his IQ score. One is from Amelia S. in Akron, Ohio, who said, please do a breakdown deep dive on IQs or IQ tests.
00:42:20 Speaker_05
And Ivy from Canada said, Kevin says he scored over 100 on an IQ test. The average IQ in the world in the 1970s, estimating when he may have taken it, was 90. Average IQ has dropped over the years. It was 87 in 2024.
00:42:38 Speaker_05
But nonetheless, does this mean that Kevin had an above average IQ as a child?
00:42:44 Speaker_07
Well, you know I've never been so excited to deep dive something. I was going to say, I mean, this call to action from Amelia, you must have been like, hey.
00:42:52 Speaker_05
I was very excited. I was also very intrigued when Ivy said that IQ scores had been dropping. I had to know everything. All right, here's what I found out. There are so many different IQ tests, and they all have different ways that they score.
00:43:08 Speaker_05
But in general, almost all of them say that 100 is like their median score. And so in general, a score of 85 to 114 signifies average intelligence. OK.
00:43:27 Speaker_05
So what we've learned is that Kevin is of average intelligence, according to his reporting of his IQ score. Although Kevin thinks he is a genius. I guess so. If you have an IQ score of 115 to 129, you are above average or bright.
00:43:47 Speaker_05
If your score is 130 to 144, you are moderately gifted. 145 to 159 is highly gifted. And it is estimated that Einstein's IQ was around 160. Dang.
00:44:03 Speaker_07
I love that that's my response to someone who's really smart. Like, dang. Dang. Shit, that's some impressive stuff.
00:44:12 Speaker_05
You go, Einstein. Einstein, I'm so proud of you. Well, about 98% of people have a score 130 or below. Only 2% of the population score above that. So only 2% of people are considered moderately to highly gifted.
00:44:34 Speaker_05
According to 2019's The Intelligence of the Nations report, the average IQ in the United States was 97.43. Uh-oh, where is this leading? Where do we rank? We're doing well globally. There was a 2010 study.
00:44:52 Speaker_05
It took the scores of 108 nations and found that the average IQ across that global sample was 89.
00:45:01 Speaker_07
Okay.
00:45:02 Speaker_05
Now, it's very important to note that these kinds of tests can be misinterpreted. They can be culturally biased. Different countries have different ideas of what intelligence is and how to measure it.
00:45:17 Speaker_05
In fact, IQ testing is sometimes considered controversial because intelligence measurements They can be misinterpreted. They can be misused to stigmatize marginalized groups.
00:45:32 Speaker_05
Also, most IQ tests do not evaluate other important aspects of human functioning like emotional intelligence. No offense to Kevin. I'm not sure he's going to score very highly in that category either. I'm thinking not. OK.
00:45:49 Speaker_05
All of that said, it is true that IQ test scores have been dropping since the turn of the millennium. And many experts believe that it is because we have upped our reliance on technology, that we simply do not use our brains as much.
00:46:05 Speaker_07
Well, that tracks, I think.
00:46:07 Speaker_05
Yeah, like we all want to find the shortcut, right? I feel like I've gotten dumber since my smartphone. I do. Remember, I used to add things without a calculator. I can't even do that anymore. Have you ever taken an IQ test? No. Cassie, Sam, have y'all?
00:46:25 Speaker_00
No, I haven't.
00:46:26 Speaker_04
Yeah, not officially.
00:46:27 Speaker_05
Not officially?
00:46:28 Speaker_04
I mean, there's like online ones, but.
00:46:30 Speaker_07
Oh, yeah. I was tested as a child. Oh, because you were so smart. They pulled you aside? I did quite well. You did a real flex there with your face. You did a little bit like, back it up, back it up. This bitch is so smarty.
00:46:47 Speaker_05
I mean, I know that they're unreliable and blah, blah, blah. But I did well. I skipped a grade as a result of my IQ test. What grade did you skip?
00:46:59 Speaker_07
How am I never? I've never heard this information about you.
00:47:01 Speaker_00
So did you ask us ours just so you could say yours?
00:47:05 Speaker_07
Yes. Yes, she did.
00:47:06 Speaker_05
No, I skipped kindergarten. Okay. They moved me ahead to first grade.
00:47:13 Speaker_05
When I was in high school and I was looking at colleges, I knew that I wanted to be an actor, but I wasn't ready to sort of, I guess, admit it, maybe, like I was trying to be practical. So I enrolled as a pre-law history major in college.
00:47:29 Speaker_05
And I thought that if I was gonna become a lawyer, it might help me on my resume if I was a member of Mensa. So Mensa is a club for people with very high IQs.
00:47:41 Speaker_00
We know what Mensa is.
00:47:42 Speaker_05
Yeah, we do.
00:47:43 Speaker_07
Well, I wanted to explain it to all y'all. I'm sorry, we didn't skip kindergarten. We didn't skip crayons and coloring and playing with Play-Doh.
00:47:52 Speaker_00
We learned what Mensa is.
00:47:53 Speaker_07
But we know Mensa.
00:47:55 Speaker_05
All right, well, anyway, I didn't qualify.
00:47:59 Speaker_04
Is the end of that story. Two of my cousins are in Mensa.
00:48:04 Speaker_05
They're in Mensa?
00:48:05 Speaker_04
They were tested as children and both are in Mensa, and they're sisters.
00:48:09 Speaker_07
Yeah. Wow. That's a smart family.
00:48:13 Speaker_04
Wicked smart family. Which is fun because they just love Pokemon and Five Nights at Freddy's. And I'm like, how are you in Mensa?
00:48:21 Speaker_05
Well, my dad qualified. He never joined. But my score, I didn't make the cut. But, you know, it's all right. I think you're doing okay. I'm doing all right. I think you're doing just fine. I'm gonna be fine. There you have it.
00:48:38 Speaker_05
I also found the ranking of average IQ scores that go state by state through the U.S., but I don't want to make anyone angry, but I'd like to say congratulations, Massachusetts, you're number one. Yeah, it is home to MIT and Harvard, so.
00:48:56 Speaker_05
A lot of universities are in Massachusetts, so many. Their average state score was 104.3. That's very good. Yes, well done. California's was very low. Oh. Third from the bottom. Oh, man, okay. 95.5 here in California.
00:49:15 Speaker_07
Got some work to do.
00:49:17 Speaker_05
There? Yeah. Kevin would be crushing it in California. I should have looked up Pennsylvania, since that's where all of our Scranton folks are from. That's where Kevin is from. Yes. Didn't do it. Didn't do it.
00:49:28 Speaker_05
If I'd been in Mensa, I might have thought of it. Maybe.
00:49:32 Speaker_07
Well, there you have it. There you have it. You did skip kindergarten, and no one can ever take that away from you. That's right.
00:49:38 Speaker_05
I really wanted to go to kindergarten, too.
00:49:41 Speaker_07
Oh, this just took a turn.
00:49:44 Speaker_05
I remember starting at school and walking past the kindergarten room and it looked so fun. It is fun. Well, I wouldn't know. Oh, womp womp. I had to go straight to a desk and learn math. Oh.
00:50:00 Speaker_07
We should do another craft night. Would that make you feel good if we did a little crafting again? Remember how we painted those cats on a fence? It might be why I like that stuff so much. Because you didn't get to do it. But I didn't.
00:50:12 Speaker_07
Well, this webisode ends with the accountants brainstorming who to interrogate next. They're kind of stumped. They're sort of looking at their, you know, notepads, like thumping their pens.
00:50:23 Speaker_05
By the way, Oscar's notepad has no words on it. None. It's like half of a tic-tac-toe board or something. I don't know what is on there.
00:50:32 Speaker_07
I know. And then Oscar shares, you know, my mom visits at the worst time. All of a sudden, it's just a personal life share. I loved it. This is what life is like at work.
00:50:43 Speaker_07
You're working, you're working, then you're like, oh, by the way, da, da, da, da, da. So he explains that his mom is visiting at the same time his friends are visiting. And they normally get together to ironically watch Prince of Tides.
00:50:57 Speaker_07
It's like their Rocky Horror Picture Show. They make fun of it. But now he can't go because his mom is here. And Kevin's like, I haven't seen it. And then Angela says, you know what? Can we just focus? And there's this pause, and I love it so much.
00:51:09 Speaker_07
I thought the timing was so great. Then Kevin says, I've never seen it. And Oscar goes, oh, it's so bad. And you can tell they're about to drive her crazy.
00:51:18 Speaker_05
And in the script, you had a line, Ange, that got cut. I know. You, under your breath, you were supposed to say, I loved it. Yeah. Yeah. Yep. All right, well, listen, why don't we take a break, and then when we come back... Roy is in accounting.
00:51:36 Speaker_05
Angela can't believe it. Well, you know, there are some theories about this. Do you know a website I can get completely lost on in the best way? I do. Wayfair. I know. There is so much stuff that is so good.
00:51:57 Speaker_05
I like to get a bowl of my mini cheese crackers and pick out new stuff on Wayfair. I know.
00:52:03 Speaker_07
You can walk through every room of my house and there's one item from Wayfair in each room. This is so true.
00:52:09 Speaker_05
I feel like we're not telling people anything they don't already know, but Wayfair is the place to shop for all things home. Literally everything from sofas to spatulas. You name it, they have it.
00:52:21 Speaker_07
Here are a few items from Wayfair in my house right now. OK. A cozy chair.
00:52:26 Speaker_02
Mm-hmm.
00:52:26 Speaker_07
Two kids' desks in their bedroom. Mm-hmm. Two nightstands.
00:52:32 Speaker_05
and two bed frames. Everything you need for your living room, outdoor areas, we didn't even talk about that, bedroom and more. Wayfair makes it easy with fast and free shipping even on the big stuff and they'll even help you set it up.
00:52:46 Speaker_07
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00:52:53 Speaker_05
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00:53:02 Speaker_07
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00:54:07 Speaker_07
So I want to share with you something that I have started doing every year. I take a picture from our year, like a special family memory, and I make it into an ornament.
00:54:16 Speaker_05
I do that! Ah! You do? Yes! I've been doing it for years. How have we never talked about this? I don't know! I've always used Shutterfly to do my Christmas cards. Same. But I also use Shutterfly to do my photo gifts. Yes. Especially during the holidays.
00:54:32 Speaker_07
Well, it couldn't be easier. You upload photos from your phone to the Shutterfly app and you can start making your personalized item right then and there.
00:54:41 Speaker_05
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00:54:53 Speaker_05
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00:55:02 Speaker_07
Enjoy 40% off your Shutterfly order with code OFFICELADIES and make something meaningful this year. Get free shipping on qualified orders. See site for more details. We are back with episode number five. It's titled, Someone in the Warehouse. Yeah.
00:55:25 Speaker_07
This webisode is going to start with Oscar, Angela, and Kevin. They're all over by Kevin's desk in the accounting nook. We had never filmed a scene like this with Oscar and I just wedged deep in that corner.
00:55:36 Speaker_07
If you go to 14 seconds, you can see how the scene is framed. And you know, Randall was brainstorming again, how can we be in a scene where we don't see the bullpen? And I have to say, this is a new accounting stack. Normally, we're at the copier.
00:55:50 Speaker_05
Stacked in a corner this time. Stacked in a corner. Yeah, you know, Oscar says, I don't think it's someone in the office. And Angela says, it has to be. I have a improv moment here.
00:56:03 Speaker_07
OK. So when we went to do our talking heads, you know, Randall would ask us questions. That's what we would always do to kind of get us into the moment, get our character talking.
00:56:13 Speaker_07
And the talking head they picked for me was one that I improvised in answer to Randall. It wasn't the scripted one they wrote for me. And I thought you could hear a little bit of my Southern accent in it. Let's hear it.
00:56:24 Speaker_06
Yeah, I do think it's someone in this office, which really breaks my heart to tell you the truth, because I thought we were all good people here.
00:56:33 Speaker_07
Yeah, I heard it when you said, breaks my heart, breaks my heart, because I thought we're all good people here. So that wasn't scripted, but I love that we got to play around like that in these talking head moments.
00:56:43 Speaker_05
Well, their next strategy is to focus on the warehouse. Could it be Roy? I mean, he's getting married soon. But Angela does not think Roy would do it. He just has too much character. That's right. And Kevin goes, hold up.
00:56:59 Speaker_07
Wait a second, you like Roy. And she's like, no, we don't.
00:57:03 Speaker_05
That's improbable. I mean, inappropriate. We got a fan question from Lydia in Sweden who said, Angela having a crush on Roy, is this supposed to have happened before or after Roy chose Angela in the episode The Fire? This was after.
00:57:20 Speaker_05
This would have been after. Yes.
00:57:22 Speaker_07
Yeah, you know, we've been asked this before during the rewatch and I do think Angela was a little smitten with Roy. Yeah. And Kevin being like Angela's idiot brother is so tickled by this. He is really going to tease her.
00:57:36 Speaker_05
Yes. He has a talking head where he's just doing that song, Roy and Angela sitting in a tree. But then Angela walks behind him and yells at him to cut it out. Cut it out, Kevin. I noticed that Stanley was in the background.
00:57:53 Speaker_05
And we also got a fan question from Tharia D. in Spain, who said, when Angela is passing by the other side of the windows and yells at Kevin to shut up, does this mean that all along people have been able to hear talking heads?
00:58:10 Speaker_05
In the office, it got me thinking about how many gossips people could have heard.
00:58:14 Speaker_07
That's a really good question. I mean, you have to think, in this instance, Kevin is singing, so maybe it's like a little louder. But my character has a few times where she is in the background of a talking head and she's ticked off. Yep.
00:58:29 Speaker_07
They did do that with you a lot, didn't they?
00:58:31 Speaker_05
Yeah. Well, now Roy is in accounting, and he's being questioned. And I noticed something really creative that Randall did here with his camera work. The scene opens with one of the few wider shots.
00:58:45 Speaker_05
He placed Kate in the foreground at her desk, but he very quickly then punches in. But he gives you a sense for one moment of that wider office view.
00:58:58 Speaker_07
And Roy's going to say, you know what? I wouldn't do that. I don't steal. And even if I wanted to, I wouldn't know how to. And Kevin lays it all out for him. Kevin's like, well, you'd have to take it from petty cash.
00:59:09 Speaker_07
Roy's like, I don't even know where you keep it. Kevin says, in Oscar's drawer. Roy says, well, isn't it locked? Kevin goes, well, he keeps the key behind the counter. And Oscar's like, Kevin, why are you telling him how to steal?
00:59:19 Speaker_07
And Roy's like, no, I wouldn't do that. It's wrong. And Angela's like, well, I'm satisfied. Thank you for your time. And then Kevin says, Roy, one more question. What do you think of Angela? And I have an improv moment. What was it?
00:59:33 Speaker_07
When Oscar says, you don't have to answer that. And Kevin says, but you can if you want to.
00:59:38 Speaker_05
That was improv? Yes. I like that a lot. All right. Episode number six is titled The Memo. At this point, the accountants have ruled out Phyllis, Stanley, Jim, Meredith, and themselves. Although Angela isn't so sure about that.
00:59:56 Speaker_05
Kevin has a talking head where he says he didn't steal it. And Angela says she is positive it's not Dwight. He has the most integrity of anyone in the office. Yes. And then they stare at her oddly. So just a reminder.
01:00:10 Speaker_05
This was released between season two and season three. So the audience knows that Dwight and Angela are a couple, but the people in the office will not find out until season five. Yeah. When Phyllis spills the beans in Moroccan Christmas. Yeah.
01:00:24 Speaker_05
So I loved that we sprinkled this in to the webisode.
01:00:28 Speaker_07
Well, up next is one of my favorite lines of the Accountant's Webisode series. What is it? Angela says to Oscar, did you talk to Kelly? Oscar says, yes. She told me she didn't do it. And then 45 minutes later, the conversation ended. Yes, that's right.
01:00:43 Speaker_07
And then Kevin says he talked to Creed, and he didn't do it either, although he did offer to sell me some dietary supplements.
01:00:49 Speaker_05
Well, they decide that they're going to write a memo. But first, they're going to argue over who gets to write it. That's right.
01:00:56 Speaker_07
Angela says, I'll write it. And then Kevin says, no, I want to write it. And Kevin's like, come on, you never let me write accounting memos. And Angela says, fine, but I'll supervise.
01:01:06 Speaker_05
I want to point out that Kate, Leslie, and Phyllis are all in the background of this. This is the most filled out this rest of this bullpen world has been in any of the webisodes.
01:01:18 Speaker_05
So I don't know what happened with everyone's schedule, but everyone was there at the same time for this scene. For this one moment. And Randall took advantage of it.
01:01:26 Speaker_07
Well, I have an improv moment. As we're leaving the conference room, I improvised shutting the door behind me, knowing that Kevin is right behind me and he'd almost walk into it.
01:01:35 Speaker_07
I got so tickled rewatching this because if you go to that moment, you can hear Brian as Kevin say, God. because he is so annoyed. And it makes me laugh every time, because Brian and I would do stuff like this to each other. You would.
01:01:50 Speaker_07
When we were in scenes together, we liked to mess around with each other. And he's really like the brother I never had. And this was me just messing with him.
01:01:59 Speaker_05
Well, now Kevin is typing the memo, but Angela is micromanaging him over his shoulder. He clearly does not know what it means to make the date right justified. Nope. I mean, this is what we were just talking about before.
01:02:14 Speaker_05
Now, like, our computers write our memos for us. We don't have to learn proper memo or letter writing. Oh, yeah, for sure. There's templates. Like, if you want to write a resume, there's a template. You just fill it in.
01:02:26 Speaker_05
I think we're getting dumber as a result. I really do. This is my complaint. This is my soapbox about AI. I don't think it's good. I don't think it's good that it's writing our essays for us. And I don't know.
01:02:39 Speaker_05
You know how I feel about getting a new TV remote. Just because it does more stuff doesn't mean it's better. We're not less busy than we were before. It's not saving us any time. We're not spending more time on leisure activities. And I think we should.
01:02:57 Speaker_05
Well, it's because we have productivity culture in this country. We value productivity. I suffer from this same illness. I don't often feel self-esteem unless I'm being productive. It's a problem. But it's affecting our health. It is.
01:03:17 Speaker_05
You know, Kendra writes about it in her book, The Plan, and it really spoke to me, that section.
01:03:21 Speaker_07
Yeah, always having a deadline, always pushing, pushing, pushing.
01:03:25 Speaker_05
Yes, and all of it is supposedly, quote unquote, saving us time, but we're all busier than we were. All right, soapbox over, whatever. I'm sure everyone agrees anyway. I'm not saying any new thoughts here. I like that you- It's nothing groundbreaking.
01:03:40 Speaker_07
I love it when you end a soapbox with just like, you're just so, ugh, whatever. Soapbox over.
01:03:46 Speaker_05
I mean, I get fired up, but then I'm also like, well, I don't know.
01:03:54 Speaker_07
I'm also tired. You're also just tired. Well, Kevin is going to finish his own memo. He wrote, Angela stinks. He says he's not going to hand it out. It's just for him. In fact, forget. Actually, I said anything about it. Oh, God, what have I done?
01:04:10 Speaker_07
Oh, my gosh.
01:04:10 Speaker_05
It's so funny. He totally spirals. He's so tickled with himself. His progression. And then he's like, wait, hold on. Don't show her that. All right. Episode number seven, things are getting tense. This is my personal favorite.
01:04:27 Speaker_07
Well, as the search for the missing money continues, the accountants start to turn on one another. We start this over in accounting again. Everyone is seated at their desk. They're working on something. I have a SaaS catch for you. What is it?
01:04:41 Speaker_07
At 13 seconds, you can see my SaaS shoes as I sit at my desk. These were the early days of The Office, and those are my classic season one sass shoes. And I'd also like to point out a Southern accent catch. What is it?
01:04:55 Speaker_07
Angela's talking head, when she says, we are missing $3,000, things are getting tense. Things are getting tense.
01:05:03 Speaker_05
Your recap talking head? Mm-hmm. You had to do a lot of those, like different versions of recapping the plot for us. I did. But things weren't tense, they were tense. They were tense. I just loved this one. This is my favorite, number seven.
01:05:19 Speaker_05
I just thought it was such great accounting chemistry. I love that we find out that Kevin once gambled with petty cash. Yeah, $2,800. Yes. I love that Angela's wearing a new necklace and everyone notices and clearly it's from Dwight, but she won't say.
01:05:39 Speaker_07
She won't say, although she's very much self-consciously fidgeting with it. I wanted to tell you guys in the script it said that Angela's friend's name was Diane Chester Berg. And in one take, I changed the last name. I said, Diane Chester Schnemberg.
01:05:56 Speaker_07
And I liked that because it was clearly Angela Lying. She was clearly trying to cover up Dwight Kurt Schrute with Diane Chester Schnigberg.
01:06:04 Speaker_05
One of my all-time favorite comedy things is when someone says a fakie name. to try to lie their way out of something. And they can't. I think it's because I am not good at improv on the spot.
01:06:18 Speaker_05
And whenever I was in improv classes and I had to say my character name, it was always stupid like that. It was never clever. It was always just mangled things.
01:06:30 Speaker_07
Oh, can we all go around and do one? Can we all say a fakie character name? Sure. Mine's going to be awful. All right, who goes first? Make up a fakie character name. Sam, go.
01:06:43 Speaker_00
Smithers Crampton.
01:06:44 Speaker_05
You did that so quickly. Thank you. You're Smithers Crampton? That's good, I like that character. I have an idea of him in my head.
01:06:51 Speaker_04
Okay. Yeah, Smithers is friends with Ted Bungus.
01:06:54 Speaker_05
Ted Bungus, okay, all right. I am Betsy Belliwelli. See? No, but that's it. Betsy Belliwelly. But I say it like I started off so strong. That was not even me doing a bit. That was me really panicking in the middle of saying a name. Betsy Belliwelly.
01:07:14 Speaker_07
This is exactly what Angela Martin did.
01:07:15 Speaker_05
Who is this woman?
01:07:18 Speaker_07
That's exactly the acting lesson. Angela, what's yours? Go. Tilda Nells.
01:07:26 Speaker_05
Tilda Nells. Tilda Nells. OK. All right. I'd love to read a script, a short. Of those? Of those four characters. That would be great, actually.
01:07:40 Speaker_07
OK. Well, as the accountants just go back and forth at one another, Kevin's like, we have to stop this. We can't start turning on one another. That's what the guy who sold the money would want us to do.
01:07:51 Speaker_07
The only thing left to do is to investigate Michael. And then the camera pans over, and we see someone at Michael's desk. Who is it? It's not Steve.
01:08:01 Speaker_05
It's not Steve. And we're going to see a lot of this person in the next episode, number eight, titled, You're Mean. And we got a lot of fan questions about it. So who is it?
01:08:11 Speaker_05
Well, Amelia S. from Akron, Ohio said, I noticed all the shots of Michael are from across the bullpen, far away. And Becky K. from Katy, Texas said, who was the actor who played Michael? I assume it was not Steve Carell.
01:08:26 Speaker_05
Well, everyone, it was a photo double played by Paul Bunnell. And Angela, of course, you knew it wasn't Steve Carell, because you were there. That's right. I love that it sold that moment, though. It really helped.
01:08:39 Speaker_05
Although, Becky did say, I thought it was weird that Michael didn't have a big goodbye when he leaves the office. Because the top of this next webisode is going to begin with Michael leaving. Right.
01:08:55 Speaker_05
And this makes it possible for the accountants to go into his office and start poking around. But before they go into Michael's office, they're kind of on a stakeout. They're just waiting for Michael to leave. Kevin says, what time is it?
01:09:09 Speaker_05
Like, why hasn't he gone? What time is it?
01:09:11 Speaker_07
And Angela says, why don't you check the clock for yourself? And he's like, why don't you just tell me what time it is? And she's like, I think people should be self-sufficient. Well, Kevin thinks she's mean. This really ruffles her feathers.
01:09:25 Speaker_07
In the script, it says Angela makes busy work. And then Kevin and Oscar sort of have this conversation. Oscar's going to the mall because he needs a new walk. And then Angela just blurts out, you know, I'm not mean.
01:09:38 Speaker_05
Oh, lady, I have an audio clip because for whatever reason, Angela is going to apologize. She's going to say sorry twice, not once, but twice.
01:09:52 Speaker_05
And I thought we had to hear it because I'm fairly certain these are the only times the words I'm sorry come out of Angela Martin's mouth ever.
01:10:01 Speaker_06
I'm sorry if I was mean.
01:10:07 Speaker_09
It's OK.
01:10:08 Speaker_06
Thank you.
01:10:13 Speaker_00
That was uncomfortable.
01:10:18 Speaker_06
Okay, let's go.
01:10:21 Speaker_09
This is so much fun.
01:10:23 Speaker_06
It's not supposed to be fun.
01:10:26 Speaker_07
Again, sorry. two saris. I know. Wow. I know. I guess she clearly cares about Kevin thinking if she's mean or not. In the webisodes, she does. At least in this world. But it's not going to stop her from being mean.
01:10:43 Speaker_07
Well, as they walk over to Michael's office, Kevin does this very funny sort of dance move towards Michael's office. In the script, it says, Kevin does the Jim Belushi slash Animal House entering the dean's office stealth maneuver.
01:10:59 Speaker_05
Yes, it was lost on me. It's also lost on Angela and Oscar.
01:11:04 Speaker_07
Yes. In the script, it didn't give any stage direction for our reaction, but Oscar and I both just chose to be not impressed. And Brian improvised. You guys are breaking my spirit.
01:11:17 Speaker_05
All right, episode number nine, titled Michael's Office. They're in there. They're looking through his stuff. This is my favorite one. This is your favorite?
01:11:26 Speaker_07
Yes, because we just were sort of just doing all of these silly bits. And you know, Kevin has the first line in the webisode. But it wasn't scripted for him to say it into Michael's toy megaphone. I thought that was so funny. Brian just did that.
01:11:41 Speaker_07
I loved it. He also added the attention. Yes. Now the part where he picks up the train whistle and blows it, that was scripted? That was, yes. I love that Oscar points out the Seiko timepiece. Like certificate, I just loved that. Yes.
01:11:58 Speaker_05
And then something odd happens. They unlock a drawer in Michael's office and they find nine Dunder Mifflin snow globes. It's so interesting.
01:12:12 Speaker_07
Why?
01:12:13 Speaker_05
Like why? What are those for? I don't know. And Kevin says if he had a snow globe drawer, he'd keep it locked too. Yeah. Well, Oscar tells Angela to go online, look at Michael's Quicken.
01:12:27 Speaker_07
I have a little thing to share about this. This scene was actually longer. When Angela logged on to the computer, it started like this. Angela says, OK, I'm in. Ugh, gross. Oscar and Kevin look. Kevin says, oh my god. Oscar says, yikes.
01:12:43 Speaker_07
Kevin says, that guy must be like 100 years old. Oscar says, what's he holding? Kevin says, I think it's a shovel. And then Oscar says, OK, OK, go check his Quicken files.
01:12:55 Speaker_05
What in the world had come up on the computer? What was he Googling? I don't know. The last eight charges were from Jack's Joke and Magic Shop. He loves that place. Angela's gonna go ahead and pay his electric bill real quickly.
01:13:12 Speaker_05
This was my favorite thing that I did.
01:13:14 Speaker_07
It was so fun to me. And when Kevin's like, what are you doing? I'm like, I'm paying his electric. It's about to be shut off. Well, all of this snooping leads nowhere. They don't find anything. But Angela does pay some of Michael's bills. Yes.
01:13:29 Speaker_07
Well, we've made it now to the last one. It's episode 10, titled The Best Day of My Life. It's going to start with Angela and Dwight. They're whispering in the kitchen. I really feel like these scenes help the writers see Rain and Ice chemistry.
01:13:44 Speaker_07
Yes, I wanted to play the clip from the scene. Rain improvised a moment at the end. Let's see if you can guess.
01:13:52 Speaker_08
You're saying Michael stole money from his own company?
01:13:55 Speaker_06
Well, we've asked everyone else.
01:13:58 Speaker_08
No. No, that's insane. It has to be somebody else. Like Meredith. Creed. No, Meredith, definitely.
01:14:08 Speaker_06
We asked her. She said she didn't do it.
01:14:10 Speaker_08
Which is exactly what you'd say if you did do it. Oh, man, I should have been handling this investigation from the beginning.
01:14:17 Speaker_06
I believe she didn't do it. Are you doubting me?
01:14:22 Speaker_08
No. And here. Oh, my God. There has to be a better explanation.
01:14:31 Speaker_06
How did he afford that new water bed he's always bragging about?
01:14:34 Speaker_08
He charged it. Discover. Made a little cash back on the deal. Smart. If he were a general in the army, and you accused him without proof, you would be court-martialed in front of a firing squad.
01:14:48 Speaker_06
That's not true.
01:14:49 Speaker_08
Okay, watch a few good men and tell me that that's not true. I own it on DVD if you want to come by later. You can't handle the truth. Just kidding. You can't.
01:14:59 Speaker_05
I mean, I'm assuming it's the little bit about a few good men.
01:15:05 Speaker_07
It's just the very end when he says, you can't handle the truth. Just kidding, yes, you can. I love early Dwight and Angela. It just is so fun to rewatch that. Well, now, guess what?
01:15:22 Speaker_05
Mystery's about to be solved. Guess who it was.
01:15:25 Speaker_07
Guess who it was. From the very beginning, Jan said, I'm sure it's an accounting error. And Angela says, it is not an accounting error, at least not mine. Turns out it was. Turns out it was.
01:15:38 Speaker_05
She accidentally logged something twice. Yep.
01:15:43 Speaker_07
Yeah, case closed. Yeah, Angela's like, oh, well, there you go. She is not gonna even for one moment admit that she really screwed up. She's back to business as usual, but Kevin is really having a moment here.
01:15:58 Speaker_05
He says, this is the best day of my life. Yes, Angela was wrong.
01:16:02 Speaker_07
Yeah. Angela did it. His face, as Angela realizes it, the smile that comes over his face, and Oscar too, they're going to live off this moment for a long time. They sure are.
01:16:14 Speaker_05
All right. Well, there you have it, folks, the award-winning webisodes, The Accountants.
01:16:21 Speaker_07
So fun. So fun. I would love to say thank you to Brian Baumgartner, Scott Kramer, Carol Angelo, and Joya Balfour.
01:16:29 Speaker_05
And I would like to throw out a thank you to Kentipedia, Kent Sabornak. It was so fun to be back in touch with him again.
01:16:36 Speaker_07
Yes. And I loved reconnecting with the NBC Digital team. You know, everyone has moved on to different things, but they said they do have lots of fun stuff to share about future webisodes. I hope we'll break down subtle sexuality. That one is pretty fun.
01:16:51 Speaker_07
So good. Mindy needs to come in. That would be so fun. She does. And thank you guys for sending in your questions and comments about the webisodes. I just love hearing everyone's perspective as they rewatch everything.
01:17:04 Speaker_05
Me too. Well, listen, join us next week for our second drink of health care, and then we're off next Wednesday for Thanksgiving. But we'll see you again the next week. Have a good one. See you then.
01:17:23 Speaker_07
Thank you for listening to Office Ladies. Office Ladies is a presentation of Odyssey and is produced by Jenna Fisher and Angela Kinsey.
01:17:31 Speaker_05
Our executive producer is Cassie Jerkins, our audio engineer is Sam Kiefer, and our associate producer is Ainsley Bubbaco. Odyssey's executive producers are Jenna Weiss-Berman and Leah Reese Dennis.
01:17:43 Speaker_07
Office Ladies is mixed and mastered by Chris Basil. Our theme song is Rubber Tree by Creed Bratton.
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