Brett Dale: How important was it to show the true friendship between Dwight and Jim in that scene near the end when Jim was giving advice to Dwight about Angela.
David: I loved how in Livin’ The Dream each of them thinks the other would do a great job as manager. Dwight giving Jim back his seat by banishing Clark to the annex was a super cool move.
One of my favorite moments from this season was when Jim left the Christmas Party early but surprised everyone and came back and Dwight runs up to him and gives him a hug.
I love when they work together as a team, such as in Traveling Salesman and Lecture Circuit, and another favorite moment of mine is in Money when Dwight is sad and despondent in the stairwell over breaking up with Angela, and Jim just speaks to him from the heart. So for me, seeing Dwight really need and respect Jim as a friend who he can share with and who’s opinion he trusts, was very important not only for this episode, but for the series as a whole.
MuckMallard: I feel like Andy’s character has evolved into an amalgam of Michael Scott and David Brent. When Steve left were there still some Michael storylines that were then adapted to other characters?
David: I don’t think there were any storylines specific to Michael Scott that were adapted to other characters.
Greg: How do you decide what will be the final scene of the opening credits? When last night’s episode was previewed during the wrap party, it ended with Andy still behind the manager’s desk. When it aired last night, it ended with Jim kissing Pam. How do you decide on the final scene of the opening credits (whose decision is it?) and also specifically why the decision was made to end on Pam/Jim last night.
David: The preview shown at the wrap party had the wrong main title — that was the one that ran through most of Season 9, but with Andy no longer manager, we would not end on his shot behind the manager’s desk.
When Andy left on his boat trip, we filmed a main title shot of his empty chair and even built up mail and papers piling on his desk to show the passage of time for later episodes. But ultimately we didn’t want to focus on Andy being missing, especially since there was so much going on with everyone else and him being away wasn’t what the shows were about.
If the shots of Michael and Andy, and the other characters who have inhabited the manager’s desk represent that being at this office is about why they’re there in the first place, to be doing work, then the Jim/Pam kiss shot that we use to end the main title sequence represents the other number one reason why they’re all there — for fun, friendship, and love.
Calabound: How long ago had the writer’s room thought up that Dwight’s proposal? During the talking heads, has Stanley been in the background, or is it footage of him played on a loop?
David: I don’t know when they came up with the idea of Dwight and Angela’s proposal, probably fairly recently, but I know they wanted something different and representative of who these characters are and yet something special like Jim and Pam’s proposal, and Michael and Holly’s.
Wow! Great Q&A! Thanks to David for taking the time to carefully answer so many questions, and thanks to Tanster for asking all of them!
I love that John wrote a special note to Jenna!! I am so going to miss Jim and Pam!!
John writing a special message in the card without Jenna knowing is a total Jim move….It’s like they really are a unit. I always thought they had a great chemistry together.
Okay, and I’m a mess now after reading about John writing the note to Jenna that made her react like that! Absolutely the best Q & A ever – can we get a special edition box set of all 9 seasons with Dave doing audio commentary for every episode?!
[ from tanster: i second that! ]
Thank you, David, for answering these questions! So cool to know that you were “the voice”.
John and Jenna are so freaking awesome. JAM has always reminded my husband and I of our relationship, he says I’m his Pam, but John and Jenna’s friendship is what makes their characters so…magical.
Wow! Wonderful Q&A — thank you!
He answered my question! Thanks for answering, and thanks tanster for organizing!
Give it up for Stanley the Manly! LDB is the man for sitting through all the talking heads.
The best Q&A ever! This was fascinating, fun to read and informative. I love how much care and thought and detail are put into these amazing episodes. I’m going to miss this show and all the talented people who work on it. Thank you David Rogers and Office Tally!
Wow, that was amazing! Thank you, Dave Rogers. Incredible insight into the episode and how sweet was it that JK wrote a special note to JF in the card.
Amazing Q&A. It really makes the episode that much better (and it was close to perfect to begin with).
Wow, only John and Jenna know what’s in the card, that’s amazing!! It makes the scene even more potent.
My unanswered question has always been… who is the father of Jan’s baby? It always seemed to me that she had some extra knowledge when she told people she went to the sperm bank. My theory is that Astrid is really Hunter’s, OR… Jan picked out Kevin from the sperm bank donor book.
The information about the card made me happy. It’s like the hug and the “Thank you” was not only between Jim and Pam, but a genuine moment between John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer, which just makes it awesome.
Thank you so much for this!
The one unanswered question I still have and don’t really expect to be resolved is whether Kevin is really the biological father of Astrid…
Wow that was an amazing Q and A, as someone has already
said, thanks to David for answering and Tanster for asking them.
Awesome Q&A. Love this stuff.
Jan got an anonymous donation from a donor bank. The only way to know if Kevin was the father would be to do a genetic test with him….but why would Jan ever do that?! It wouldn’t make any sense to reveal a father.
Great Q&A! I really enjoyed reading it :)
Thank you so much for the awesome insight, David! And thanks for the organization of this Q and A, Tanster! You’re both so great. And as always, even more obsessed with JAM after reading about this private card. Can they get any more perfect?!
Wow, just wow. I read this right after seeing the video “The Faces of Jim.” I miss them already!
Really great Q&A. This was awesome of David.
I’m still confused about the Beesly/Beesley thing. Didn’t Jim’s video say Beesley?
Wow. Great Q&A! Thanks so much for answering my question. I actually forgot that Dwight had used a dirty diaper for the DNA test. I’m also glad that the content of the card won’t be revealed…it’s much better that way.
What will we do now? Now that the Office is officially over? Will the characters watch themselves now?
the only unanswered question – why did Michael hate Toby so much? Greg Daniels mentioned he might do a backstory on that but never did…I would love to know!
I wonder if that means that LDB technically has the most screen time of any actor on the show. I hope that reflects in his syndication royalties! :)
Thank you David, it was a very informative and moving Q&A. Glad you contributed to the show.
@ash
Some things, like the card from Jim to Pam, are better left unexplained. And I’m glad they never addressed that.
The common guess for Toby is that, Toby being HR, he didn’t answer to Michael Scott, wasn’t compelled to take part in his charades and may have transmitted over the years reports and complaints to the headquarters, as he was supposed to do.
Anyway, Dwight did fire Toby in the finale, something Michael could never do. Either David Wallace changed the rules, or he approved first Dwight’s request for undisclosed reasons (Toby not reporting that Andy was missing?)
And it still made it more effective that Michael’s hatred for Toby is so irrational. If there had been a concrete reason for it, we would have linked Michael’s behavior with the original incident. Without explanation, it was even more childish and effective.
Great Q&A, thanks for this!
Question though: from which episode is the deleted scene Tyson refers to in his question – with Jim talking about his best first date with Pam?
Amazing! Thank you!
I thought the misspellings of Pam’s last name were addressed in a commentary from one of the Niagara episodes. They said that at the rehearsal dinner, on the sign outside of the door, beesley was spelled wrong on purpose.listen to commentary though
Did erin end up with plop?