Posted on by tanster

Jen Celotta answers ‘Goodbye, Toby’ questions

Q. The YouTube video with Ryan — was that actually hosted on YouTube prior to the airdate of the episode, or was it just a computer mockup? | Evan

Jen: That video was set up on YouTube but as a private account. John accessed it when we were shooting so they were actually watching the video link on YouTube and then it was released to the public after it aired that night.

from tanster: that is one of the things I actually got to see during my set visit!

Q. Were there alternative questions in the Toby exit interview that you can share? | Jamey

Jen: No, there weren’t any alternative questions. But because you brought up this scene, I want to mention a moment that I like — something Jenna did in the scene — when Michael says “Who do you think you are?” and Toby says “I’m Toby” — I love that Pam scribbled something on her notebook!

I have to imagine she wrote down “He is Toby” or something like that. It made me laugh every time I saw it in the cut.

from tanster: here is what Jenna Fischer had to say:

Jenna: I wrote down “Who are you?” and then “Toby” and sometimes I wrote, “He is Toby.” I took notes as if I might have to transcribe the interview later.

Q. I was wondering if Michael’s line about Holly working at a bakery was a reference to the trailer that has been shown for the new ‘Get Smart’ movie? | Fire Guy!

Jen: No, it wasn’t a reference to ‘Get Smart.’ I love that talking head and it was written by Brent Forrester.

I don’t know if any of the writers have commented about this before — but we do something called “blitzes” — it’s when we have an area for a talking head, like “Michael’s feelings about Holly,” and we all go to our offices and come up with a bunch of talking heads on that theme.

Then we get together and go over them — sometimes we’ll have 20 or 30 talking heads on one idea and we’ll read them out loud and see which ones work the best. This bakery talking head was a result of a blitz and it’s one of my favorite things in the episode.

Q. If Jan wanted to have a “good shot” with her sperm-bank child and that’s why she didn’t “pick” Michael’s sperm, why did she invite him to Lamaze class with her? | Gracie

Jen: I think Jan is a complicated woman. While she doesn’t think of Michael as the ideal genetic father for her child, she cares about Michael and she’s drawn to his sweetness.

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49 comments

  1. Wow, what a compilation!

    A big thank you to Tanster, Jen and all the special contributors!

  3. Another awesome Q&A for us fans.. thanks to TanMonster & Jen, I’m also always amazed at how much in-character work Jenna does with Pam. it’s awesome.
    Can’t wait for the Season 4 DVD :-D

  4. That was a great read. Thank you thank you tanster, Jen, and all the special commentators! I still can’t get over how awesome it is that the fans actually have contact with the creators and executors of the show =)

  5. Thank you for sharing so much with us . I love learning about extra details regarding the show. It sounds silly, but this show brings a lot of joy to my life

  6. I love these! Thank you to Tanster, for orchestrating them all!

    Glad to hear about the choice of, “Just My Imagination.” I had wondered the same thing about the lyrics and if they were significant. It’s such a romantic song- GOOD choice writers- one I wouldn’t have quite expected but so sweet and magical and perfect!

  8. Thank you so much, Jen and Tanster! I love these Q&As. My favorite part is Mose’s answer. I love him and I hope we can see more of him in Season 5! Thanks again!

  9. I read this whole thing really slowly to let the joy last as long as possible. Jen! Jenna! Mose! Rainn! Band guys! Man, this was good. Can’t wait for Season 5.

  10. This was the most amazing q&a yet! I loved Mose & Rainn’s responses! This almost makes up for the lack of commentary on this episode for the s4 dvd. :)

    Target should put together a booklet of all of these q&a’s as a special feature!

    Thank you so, so much for doing this Tanster.

  11. Great stuff! I really hope that this trend continues next season. It’s rapidly becoming my favorite feature on this site. Thank you, Jen and gang! Terrific insight! See ya next year!

  13. I love reading these!
    Thanks Tanster, Jen, and all the other awesome people!

  16. So, Mose names every animal ever after what he’s seen it eat? They must have a lot of livestock named “Grass” and “Oats”.

    Mose’s baby will be named Milk.

  17. Thank you Jen, Craig, Chris, David, Jenna, Mose, Rainn, and tanster! I hope we can continue this next season!

  18. That was a great read. Thanks Jen, tanster and special guest contributors! Can’t wait for next season. ;)

  19. The rough cut was 72 minutes?!?! There are going to be a ton of deleted scenes in the DVD :)

  20. that was the best Q&A! thanks for getting so many people! and i love that mike schur wrote as mose.

  21. I was really impressed with Jen at the convention and this Q and A didn’t disappoint!!
    thanks so much for sharing all the behind the scenes stuff
    the show is so hilarious i think i forget sometimes how many people work so hard to make this show special

  22. Thanks for this. It was very informative and it was great to hear from so many different cast members (and Mose, of course!)

  23. This was the best Q&A yet. Thank you so much, Office cast and crew, and thanks to Tanster for posting it.

  25. My question got answered!!!! Best Q&A yet. And Rainn actually responded! Very informative!

  26. Yay Mose! That was really funny input, Rainn’s too. Thanks Tanster- this really makes me look forward to the DVD and all.

  27. Thanks Jen et al for answering the TallyHeads.

    Looking forward to Season 5 – I hope you make Mr. Kevin Malone even more “special”. That would be awesome.

  28. Cool, my question got answered this time and on the dinner party Q and A. Can’t wait for next season.

  29. Tanster, that was so amazing that you could get all those people to contribute! Thanks for putting that together; that was a great read.

  30. Thanks tanster, and also kudos to the Tallyheads for all these great questions (I haven’t been able to think of one yet!)

  31. These Q&A’s are awesome! Thank you so much to Tanster, Jen, and all of the previous writers for doing this!

  32. Jen, I feel the exact same way about deep fried Twinkies.

    Thanks Jen and Tanster. I absolutely love these Q&A’s!!

  33. THANK YOU!! i literally came to this site 10 times a day for this Q&A! you rock, TANSTER!!!

    btw, i hope they include the extended rough cut version of goodbye, toby on the DVD

  34. Thank you so much everybody for a fantastic season finale and Q&A! This is one of my favorite features on the site and I have been eagerly awaiting these answers.

    I also enjoyed the recognition of Pam’s mad note taking skills – I started laughing so hard when she started writing after Toby’s answer to “Who do you think you are?”

  35. Big thanks to Tanster and Jen for these answers. It is so great that the writers do this for us fans.

    I literally do not know how I’m going to make it until Sept. 25th…

  36. Thanks to the awesome input from Jen and the Office gang! And a special thanks to Tanster for organizing the Q&A! Office fans are so spoiled :)

    I was glad that they originally chose a badger… Go Wisconsin Badgers!!!

  38. Goodbye Toby was so much fun to watch and rewatch, and it’s wonderful to learn about the making of it. These Q&As are so generous and just golden. Thanks so much! Jen Celotta can even make me laugh when she’s answering questions about an episode! No wonder the talking heads are always so great. The effort and care that goes into them is amazing.

  39. Thanks once again, Tanster, for putting this together. Also, BIG thanks to the awesome Jen Celotta (and guest contributors) for answering my question and all the rest! Craig, I think your band needs to book a gig in Minneapolis. ;)

    I have to agree with the earlier comment “It sounds silly, but this show brings a lot of joy to my life.” :)

  40. Thanks Tanster for submitting my question! Thank you to Jen and Jenna for the response. It feels great to contribute.

  41. What great insight into the episode. Thanks for taking our questions Tanster, and thank you to the writers for answering them. :)

  42. holy gosh! Tanster, this is sooo awesome! I love how you put other tidbits from different castmembers!
    Thanks for all the effort you put into this website that satisfy my office craving!

  44. I am so excited and grateful that Jen answered my question. Thanks so much for doing all of this Tanster!

  45. I do not normally laugh at stuff I read(I’m the type who finds the delivery of lines to be more amusing than the actual dialogue.) But wow, the “Chair” story definitely had me LOLing. Possibly even LMAOing.

  46. I have to admit that after the finale I was bitter about the lack of JAM nuptials – but reading Moses’ account of chair and trampoline leg just make me fall in love all over again. Thank you SO much Mike Schur!

  47. Wow, I want to see the 73 minute rough cut! It’d be like a feature length version of The Office!

  48. Ahaha, that chair and trampoline leg made me laugh so hard!

  49. WOW. I promised myself I would not obsess about anything related to The Office until after my final exams…and it was a very rough few weeks, but OFFICETALLY MAKES IT ALL WORTH IT!!! It is so great to have such devoted fans (tanster) who will set up discussions with such amazing and talented writers. We are indeed very lucky fans : )
    Thanks again for all your willingness to share with us, and for giving me a nice happy light at the end of the tunnel of exam-taking!

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