Stolen Glances & Paper Clips: NBC Studio Day Set Visit: The Office – TCA Summer Press Tour 09 – Feature

“The Office” has become America's darling marking its intensity over the past couple years. To be able to see the set per se is a study in the new element. The shooting location buried in a corner of would-be considered Van Nuys at the Valley Chandler Studios lives up to the non- descript, below-the-radar permutation of the actual show. Entering into the back loading area, it could very well be a Home Depot delivery staging spot or even a storage center. The lighting scheme plays into this as well with very natural inflection.Walking out into the parking lot, the small sign detailing Scranton barely peeks out above the wall daring you to make eye contact. Aside from a small amount of passenger vans, the license plates of a couple cars, especially an aptly placed PT Cruiser, are adorned with Pennsylvania license plates. Walking past the craft service truck, you enter the holy grail currently of comedy shows: the main office. Right next to the reception, Kate Flannery, who plays the undeniable Meredith on the show, finds us with her fire red hair.As we stand and listen, the picture of Pam & Jim on Pam's desk wisps out of the corner of the eye, abundantly clear. As we take pictures in Michael's chair, you understand the organic nature of what the set is. Michael (played by Steve Carell) can see Jim's desk directly from his point of view which is right next to Pam's. Any specific point has its eye line direct although sometimes it is interesting to say which way the camera would actually be looking when we see it on TV. Unlike most sets the lighting here is done via florescents so the actual keys for shooting are interesting across the board.Kate takes us through the kitchen area and the undeniably pink bathroom of lore. The vending machines which some characters rudimentally beat the crap out of are there as well, just steps away. Meredith relates that all the cast and crew end up eating a boatload of potato chips so the food never goes bad. The prop department, which we got a good look at when we went through the back aspect of the set (which is the first time you actually you get a sense of its construction), has some great cast and crew photographs based on the wall and there is a lit up sign of Room 728 which begs a question.Entering back into the main base hall, the entire cast files in as each of us is given our own Mifflin desk appliance. Paul Lieberstein, the exec producer, jokes at the beginning of the session that the Buffalo office was closed because sales went down. It was a toss up between there and here in Scranton. In terms of the new season, he relates that the main storyline will be following Jim & Pam when they going back and meet their families Michael was obviously the antagonist the first season but now has softened a bit which will continue to unfold. In the new season, we will find out that Andy likes Erin but Erin is unaware. But, in all aspects, it might be a rough year for Michael Scott. To this, Steve Carrell retorts rather intently: “Delicious!”Carell says that the evolution of Michael from the pilot to the first season is that he lost 20 pounds because he did “40 Year Old Virgin”. Carrell jokes that he became extremely changed yet he says that he has always seen Michael as a sympathetic character. With people who are obnoxious and get in your face, there are always gray areas, he explains. With this guy, his intentions are good and his heart is in the right place but he has emotional blind spots, according to Steve. In the first couple seasons, he, as an actor, had to be more willing to guard the character and not show everything. As that happens, the other characters will let their guards down as well.The next aspect brought to point is the famous “glance” courtesy of Jim (played by John Krasinki). John says that nobody has ever named it before. It came up in the pilot. He says jokingly that he has convinced the powers that be that he will be able to shock the audience with one of these at any given moment so he can get down to business. He says, of course, that all of this comes down to the writing. In terms of his favorite moment so far on the show is on the booze cruise when he is on the top of the ship with Pam. He likes this because there is a moment of silence that allows the gravity to breathe and sink in. He also says that the aspect of having Pam be pregnant before the wedding was a great stroke of genius. In terms of his perception of Jim's ambition, John says the guy does the work but definitely tries to keep his head lowFor Jenna Fischer who plays Pam, she is just surprised by all the attention, especially when she went to Europe recently. She jokes that her relationship with John as Jim started off rough. At first it was unrequited love. When they finally got together, she started to see from her fan mail that the fans were growing up with them and wanting to know when they would get married. Now the aspect of kids has set in. Jenna says that Pam will be walking down the aisle very soon since she is pregnant in the show and that there need not be time to wait. The consensus is that the wedding will be in Episode 4. Jenna was also excited because she got fitted for Pam's wedding dress literally a couple minutes before we arrived. She says it was a very special moment for her personally. This girl, when she was first started playing her, didn't know who she was and was with the wrong guy. Now she is with the right guy. She has seen part of the wedding episode and thinks it is really funny.Greg Daniels, who was the brains along with Ricky Gervais, in bringing the aspect of “The Office” to America originally told NBC that, like the British version, it might take a couple seasons to establish an audience and the ratings on the show. Why this concept seemed to work is that it had the energy of a reality series because it was in a mockumentary format but that structural angling and writing made all of the difference. Daniels jokes that to keep Jim and Pam from moving on and evolving in the show in terms of not leaving the company, he conspired to have the economy destroyed so they could stay.Lieberstein, when pressed for ensuing story lines next season, says that Michael will meet with an Italian American gentleman the week after Jim and Pam get married and are on their honeymoon. The thought that starts to permeate around the office is that Michael is meeting with the mob and setting up an insurance scam. Liberstein also alludes that there will be a shareholders meeting that occurs sometime this season,The essence of the entire cast in this would-be playhouse is an embarrassment of riches. A thick and vibrant sense of humor seems to run through the whole cast and crew led by Carrell and exec Paul Lieberstein which seems to infect the whole cast. What also seems apparent is that the show works so well because of that synergy in that it creates a sense of symbiosis. In a show that is all about the problems of the workplace, it seems to create a complete paradox in its actuality making the show as original and funny as it is.