Thursday May 16th was probably a pretty normal day for most of you. But for Brian and I, it marked the end of an era. You see, for 8 whole years we would sit and laugh together (sometimes with friends) at The Office every Thursday night. We have been married for this long. Eight years. So as long as Brian and I have shared life together, this show has been a Thursday commitment. We intially bought some of the first seasons on DVD, and when we realized it was going to go on and on (for like NINE seasons!), we stopped. This was the one show that we both equally liked, equally quoted and equally reserved time in our schedule to watch and laugh together.
So, as we traveled to visit friends and family this summer, we payed tribute to The Office. We spent the night in Scranton, PA, where the series was based. Though there is no real "Dunder Mifflin," Brian did his research and discovered that even though the show wasn't filmed here, it does allude to some of the city's landmarks. So if you are an office fan, you'll especially appreciate this:
Froggy 101 (anyone remember the sticker on Dwight's desk?)
Us being super cool singing
"Goodbye Toby. It's been niiiice. Hope you find your paradiiiiise."
Scranton here we come!
You may recognize this name from the episode “Launch Party,” where Michael Scott tries to befriend his
disgruntled employees by ordering takeout from their favorite pizzeria. The funny part is that when the pizza arrives, the workers discover it isn't Alfredo’s Pizza Café, but rather Pizza by
Alfredo’s! Apparently Kevin (who eats just about anything) complains that the pizza tastes “like
eating a hot circle of garbage." Thankfully Alfredo's Pizza was pretty good in person.
"SCRANTON! WHAT?! THE ELEC-TRIC CITY!" (So Michael & Dwight came up with a rap- perhaps a Beastie boys knockoff about Scranton.)
Mifflin Ave (we saw the street sign... maybe this inspired Dunder Mifflin Paper)
Scranton sign inside of the mall
We were hoping to find some remnant of the show like the giant Dwight head in the glass elevator. Brian hysterically approaches the mall cop: "hey do you know where the Dwight poster is?"
Cop: "Who?"
Brian: "Dwight." (without stating any reference- as if EVERYONE in Scranton should be on a first-name basis with Dwight Shrute.)
Unfortunately no Dwight or Michael Scott or Jim & Pam. Not even a Meredith or an Oscar. But I did find this hiding behind a booth in the mall!
Steamtown Mall playground
Remember Stanley and Pretzel Day at work? Stanley's favorite day. Period.
See ya Steamtown Mall!
Ok so those random shots don't really compare to the bizillion laughs we had over The Office quotes. I would share some but they aren't really G rated so I'll just let you watch re-runs on hulu.
Ok ok, well I think hubby and I laughed the hardest when Michael and Dwight drove their car into the lake b/c the GPS lady told them to.
Or pretty much anything Kelly Kapoor:
and can't forget the Office Olympics or my personal favorite- Michael's Diwali song:
And if you aren't convinced the show was that cool, the Decemberists performed "Sons and Daughters" with Dwight playing along:
Some clips of Michael:
If you haven't had a chance to watch the full season, I still recommend it. The finale was well-done considering it had to bring closure to 8 years of the show. We are hopeful that somewhere out there, some ingenious writers will bring together another show of relationships, hardships, the mundane with charm, wit, ridiculously absurd improv style humor that will be "incaculable."
