Author: tanster

From Brian Baumgartner’s TV Guide blog, dated July 19, 2006:

Let the Webisodes Continue!
OK. For real. I have no idea how many people watched the webisodes of NBC’s The Office last week at NBC.com. Early indicators had the number around 3 billion, but this was unconfirmed and strictly a conservative estimate made by me. My mom told me they figured by week’s end the number was nearly a trillion. Angela [Kinsey] said she thought 17. That is, a total of 17. She can be so negative.

This week in our little story, The Accountants interrogate Meredith, played by Kate Flannery. A little backstory on Meredith, if you are one of the 3 billion who have just tuned into the webisodes without having seen the series: Meredith is a drinker. Which makes her irresponsible. So she is considered a prime suspect, IMO (“In My Opinion,” for the folks who are not Internet-savvy.)

Kate Flannery is an exceedingly funny lady who created and stars in one of Los Angeles’ wittiest and most highly regarded stage shows, The Lampshades. Kate’s final moment in The Office’s “Christmas Party” episode (which garnered an Emmy nomination for writer Mike Shur), is my favorite moment of our first two seasons.

Odd transition….

Remember the final days in August as a child? Right before Labor Day. When the pool closed for the year. When all of the freezy pops had been eaten. When Mom or Dad would take you to the store to get new clothes. You were about to see those friends you really liked a lot but not enough to call them over the summer for a playdate. Yes. The beginning of the school year. Seeing old friends, avoiding familiar enemies. Meeting new teachers. Getting in trouble. Being sent to the principal. No, wait — before that. The happy times. Do you remember?

That is how I feel this week. You see, we are going back to work [on Season 3] starting Monday. And that is a good thing. Sure, I will miss the 100-degree days in my house with no air conditioning. But ding-dong, the witch is dead, strike up the band and all that. I’m so excited, and I just can’t hide it. So in short, next week’s blog will be written in my corner of Dunder Mifflin. I wonder what Jim and Pam have been up to?

Transitioning oddly for the second time….

Also in big news for The Office: A few weeks ago we were nominated for several TCA Awards. These awards are given by the Television Critics Association, and they will be handed out this Sunday [July 23] in Los Angeles. The suspense is killing me. I will be your inside man on the red carpet this weekend and will report all the goings on next week.

Not really. TV Guide has enough reporters that can get more “inside scoop” than I can even spell. So I will just have fun. And let you know what happens. ;) :0) (I just tried to make a smiley face like people online do. Twice. But I can’t do it. Or at least I don’t think I can. It doesn’t really look like a smiley face. Can anybody help?)

Final odd transition of the blog….

This week on The Office — Primetime Edition, Thursday at 8:30 pm/ET — is an episode from Season 1 entitled “Basketball.” I have been asked one question a lot, so I am just answering it, truthfully and honestly like always.

The Question: Was that really you who shot all those baskets at the end of the episode, or was it some trick?

The Answer: Proudly, yes. It was me. All me, baby. I used to play a little ball back in the day, and it was me, unedited. I hit approximately 14 shots in a row in our first take of that sequence, and I have been told we had to edit them out for time. I believe that on the Season 1 DVD they show me make many more. The exact number has become a bit of lore around the set, but suffice it to say, I did make all the shots that were shown in the episode and quite a few more. The phrase “deceptively athletic” has been used to describe me, and I think that pretty much says it all. What made me most proud was doing it in front of John Krasinski. He is quite a baller and all told, I think I made more shots in the episode than he did. Or at least that is what I’m telling myself.

Enjoy the webisodes. Enjoy the show. And I will have one more freezy pop for you all before I go back to work.