UPDATE: David sent me some behind-the-scenes photos!
David Rogers, director of last week’s episode, Junior Salesman, and long-time editor of The Office, was reading through some of your comments wondering about the “Erin tries to find her birth parents with Pete’s help” storyline, included in the original NBC episode summary.
Here’s what he said:
The Erin/Pete searching for her parents story was cut out of this episode just because we had so much great comedy and needed the time for Dwight and his freaky friends and how Jim and the gang reacted. (This happened to me before when I directed and edited Mafia and the Erin story of accidentally destroying Pam’s painting was cut out for time but it remained in the synopsis description of the episode!)
Most shows put together a first cut that’s maybe 3 to 5 minutes over the 22 minutes that they need to be for air. But because of the doc style of our show, we move faster than traditional single camera style shows, and therefore we can shoot more in a week than most half-hour comedies do. Hence our scripts are longer and our first cuts are a whopping 15 to 21 minutes over the 22 minute air length! Something’s gotta go!
And that’s why we often have such great and satisfying deleted scenes — they’re just cut out of the final episode due to time restraints. (Yes there are a couple of deleted scenes with Sensei Ira! And we’ve also got the weirdos playing paintball!)
We’ve got some great episodes coming down the pike. Andy returns next week! Jon Favreau directed a really terrific episode that airs the following week! And we’ve got some guest stars that I think the fans will really enjoy seeing…
Thanks, David! :)
It’s too bad they couldn’t have made this episode an hour long and include Erin’s storyline. I think it would have been interesting to see play out
” And we’ve got some guest stars that I think the fans will really enjoy seeing…”
Really excited about that last part!
Guess I will only watch the deleted scenes.
This is why I miss the “super-sized” episodes so much – 40 minutes just seemed like the right length of time for an Office episode.
I wish they would have cut the “Jim going to Philly” arc. It’s become the least interesting part of this season. Obviously they’re setting up for the finale, but it’s unfunny. Darryl’s interview… no words. Ugh.
Bummer. That’s the storyline I was MOST looking forward to! I hope someone posts it online soon!
Totally agree with Iamsam #5!!! Plus Jim has turned into Roy.
This is a solid explanation and since it’ll likely appear in the deleted scenes I’m happy.
I still have a horrible taste in my mouth from Koi Pond though – it kills me everything I watch that episode and there’s no Haunted Warehouse cold open even though the description says “halloween”. Worst retroactive editing decision ever, it still hurts. I’ll never stop complaining about that!
Poor David Rogers, just can’t get an Erin storyline into an episode…
Most importantly (and I’m surprised nobody’s noticed this yet), we now have solid proof that our comments on this site are being read by Office writers. Perhaps they’ve taken some of our finale suggestions?
[ from tanster: that is correct! while i was transcribing quotes late last night, david emailed me. around 11:30pm. how awesome is he? :) ]
Well David, if you are reading this comment, just know that YOU ARE AWESOME! Take some time to read fan’s comments is just a great act. And I thought your decision was perfect. The episode felt so good having just THAT storyline playing out, and there were some many funny moments in it.
Question: What kind of bear is.. just kidding, haha!
Are there any chances those guest stars being Kelly and Ryan? I really hope so.
Every time we get a super-sized/hour long episode, I’m left thinking, “This is how all Office episodes should be.”
I wonder if the six guest stars include Gabe, Kelly, and Ryan? If so, that’s only three. I have a feeling the latter two probably aren’t counted. I’m hoping to see Karen, Katy, and maybe Mr. Brown. That would be cool.
Of course, I’d love to see Michael Scott one last time.
I believe Ryan and Kelly have been confirmed for the finale? tanster?
HELLO THEOFFICE WRITERS! just wanna say hello and please don’t let us down. WE love you!!!
from philippines with love.
I wish I could line all The Office writers up and just hug them, or bake them cookies, or reward them *somehow* for giving us such an amazing show for so long. I laughed so, so hard at this week’s episodes and have really been enjoying what they’re doing with this last season. I spent an hour at my work’s Christmas party quoting lines from past seasons with coworkers and it just reminded me of how much good has come from all of the people involved in The Office over all the years. I wish so hard that I could have done a set visit at least once in all the times they were offered, but I’ll settle for knowing that you care about the fans just as much as we care about you. I wish this wasn’t the end, but I can’t wait to see what else you guys bring. Thank you, and thanks to Tanster for always bridging the gap and being the best site that this show deserves. I’m gonna miss you all so much!
[from tanster: awwww, thanks! don’t make me cry!]
It was so nice of Dave Rogers to explain cuts made in Junior Salesman. I thought it was a great episode as aired — and didn’t see the need for any Erin/Pete/Andy stories. I like Erin doing her job behind reception — that’s enough for me.