What tonight’s Office might have been …

The Scranton Times-Tribune reports on what will take place on tonight’s new episode of The Office, as well as what could have been …

Tonight’s “The Office” takes place on St. Patrick’s Day
BY JOSH MCAULIFFE (STAFF WRITER)
Published: March 11, 2010

Whether it’s a parade, a party or a well-known TV show, there’s no shortage of ways to get your Irish on during the next week.

As usual, the Scranton area will be teeming with Emerald Isle-style revelry in the days leading up to St. Patrick’s Day. Meanwhile, those goofballs from Dunder Mifflin Scranton are getting in on the act, too.

Tonight’s episode of “The Office,” airing at 9 on WBRE-TV, Channel 28, will take place on St. Patrick’s Day, and will revolve around Michael and Co.’s attempts to get out of the office and celebrate the holiday. Unfortunately, the company’s new head honcho, Jo Bennett, is visiting the office and putting a crimp in everyone’s plans.

“She won’t go home. They’re all waiting for her to go home. They all have St. Patty’s Day plans, but she won’t leave,” said “Office” executive producer Paul Lieberstein, who also plays Toby on the show.

As it happened, the show’s producers had plans to send a film crew and a couple of cast members here to take part in this Saturday’s 49th annual St. Patrick’s Parade in downtown Scranton, Mr. Lieberstein said. From there, the show was going to take the footage and incorporate it into the episode, which was originally slated to air on March 18.

Alas, when last week’s Jim and Pam baby episode went from being a two-parter to a one-parter, the St. Patty’s episode was moved up a week, thus nullifying the parade element, Mr. Lieberstein said.

“We were going to put Phyllis on a float and Creed on a chair,” he said. “We were really excited to do it, and maybe we can try to do it again at some point.”

P.S. My insider gave me a little teaser about tonight’s episode; find it on the spoiler page.

The Office baby coverage

Jim and Pam’s baby arrives in a one-hour episode tonight March 4th, 9/8c!

Here’s a summary of OfficeTally’s baby coverage:

One more thing:
If you’re a truly rabid Office fan, watch for something extra funny in the hospital tonight!

Should ‘The Office’ Be Used In HR Training?

From NPR:

The Office, a comedy about a jumble of oddball workers trying to get along in a claustrophobic environment, is a phenomenon of our times, a period when the American workforce is more diverse than it has ever been.

But what does the fictional office tell us about the national workplace?

… Though the show is clearly a caricature, there are grains of truth in the dysfunctional conflicts that drive its humor …

Link: Should ‘The Office’ Be Used In HR Training?

Tipster: TheRachel84

Beth Grant: Dwight’s ‘Dinner Party’ date

The Onion’s A.V. Club interviews actress Beth Grant, who talks at length about her role as Dwight’s babysitter/date in The Office’s Season 4 episode, Dinner Party.

Here’s a snippet:

Greg Daniels, I worked with on King Of The Hill … He had seen No Country For Old Men and really liked it, and as soon as they went back to work, he called me to do the “Dinner Party” episode. The director won an Emmy; it was this great, great, dark episode … Their fight is so embarrassing to everyone concerned — and with Dwight bringing me as his date, who’s also his babysitter, it’s just sick!

She goes on to talk about what it was like working with Steve Carell and Rainn Wilson.

Link: The A.V. Club interview with Beth Grant (scroll down to The Office section)