My Visit to Scranton's Dunder Mifflin, By Way of Van Nuys

It's the desk that once housed Michael Scott (Steve Carell) and is now the seat of Andy Bernard (Ed Helms)! After nine seasons, I finally traveled to Van Nuys in order to visit Scranton, Pa.'s Dunder Mifflin office on Wednesday. It was the final day of the TV Critics Assn. press tour, and "The Office" set welcomed critics and reporters with Pennsylvania snacks (craft beers, local chips and pies). But more importantly, it was one last chance to get the whole cast in one place to reminisce about the show and talk about the final season.

It was a rather fun and even emotional press conference, as cast members like Jenna Fischer lamented that their time there was close to being over. Executive producer Greg Daniels, who returned to the show to run its final season (and help conclude the show's storylines), told reporters that every episode from now until the end of the run would wrap up loose ends, give favorite characters a chance to say goodbye and give the show an opportunity to do things it couldn't have done earlier in the run. Daniels has an idea how the show will end, but hasn't yet written that final episode.

Some pics from my brief visit to Dunder Mifflin:



It's the main "Office" office!

Facing the office conference room



Craig Robinson, Ed Helms and Brian Baumgartner serenade us with "When Doves Cry."



One more of the Andy/Darryl/Kevin band.

Los Angeles Cameo: Skateland on 'The Office'

In real life, Skateland, named "one of the nation's ten best roller rinks" by USA Today, is based in Northridge.

But on last week's episode of "The Office," it's located across a strip club in Scranton, Pa., and is where Dwight, Andy and Darryl spend one workday afternoon looking for ladies.



Skateland is a popular enough film shoot site that it even has a webpage devoted to it. (We're still partial to Glendale's Moonlight Rollerway even though we've never skated there.)



The real Skateland is located at 18140 Parthenia Street in Northridge.

Los Angeles Cameo: A Slice of West Hollywood on "The Office"

On last Thursday night's "The Office," the characters travel outside of the Dunder Mifflin office to catch Andy Bernard (Ed Helms) in a local Scranton performance of "Sweeney Todd."

But I got the biggest kick out of the theater where "Sweeney Todd" was being performed. As seen above, the establishing shot was actually of West Hollywood's Macha Theatre (formerly known as the Shakespeare-inspired Globe Theatre).

I lived across the street (Kings Road) from the Globe Theatre for six years, so the building is very familiar.

Dwight Schrute Takes On KCRW

First there was Ashton Kutcher vs. CNN. Then Aziz Ansari took on the forces at IMAX. Now, "The Office's" Rainn Wilson has become the next celebrity vigilante on Twitter.

His target: KCRW.

Wilson addressed the public radio station's music selections on his Twitter site this Saturday:

Dear @kcrw, remember that olde fashioned musique called 'rock'? It doesn't involve electro Swedish techno loops but it's still pretty good.

A reader then replied to Wilson's comment, adding that "(Henry) Rollins' show is the only one I can stomach on kcrw anymore (Saturday 6 p.m.). The rest is Brazilian electro-lounge bullshit.

Wilson's response? "AMEN."

No response yet from KCRW.

License Plate of the Day: Michael Scott Edition

I know, this family loves its kids. But after this week's "The Office," I'd like to imagine this plate was inspired by Michael Scott:

"How can I be lonely with my boys? A famous person once said, 'Boys on the side.' But I don't. I disagree. I say, 'Let's hear it for the boys.'"

Break Me Off a Piece of That "Office" Gag

Last week's episode of "The Office" (awesome, as always) featured a running gag in which office dolt Andy (Ed Helms, above) couldn't remember how the old commercial jingle "Gimme a break, gimme a break, break me off a piece of that..." went.

Apple Sauce? Grey Poupon? Driven mad, Andy finally settles on "Fancy Feast."

Of course, the joke's funny, because everyone knows it's "Kit-Kat Bar," right?

Apparently not. I've noticed quite a few people hitting Franklin Avenue this weekend, Googling the words "Break me off a piece of that."

So I checked it out on Google myself, and discovered why: Strangely enough, Franklin Avenue is fourth on the list, and the first to actually mention Kit-Kats (this post, about our love for obscure Kit-Kat flavors).

The TV Museum's Day at "The Office"

The Museum of TV & Radio's annual William S. Paley Festival kicked off last week, with panels on "American Idol" and "The Office." I attended the "Office" panel on Friday and filed this report for Variety:

Steve Carell broke William S. Paley Festival ground on Friday night, providing what may have been the annual event's first on-stage same-sex kiss.

Or, at least this year's first same-sex kiss. Or, at least what looked like a kiss. Midway through the panel discussion, Carell leapt out of his seat to re-enact the pivotal scene from this year's "Office" season opener - planting a juicy one on co-star Oscar Nunez, to the delight of fans.

It was an unscripted moment, something the "Office" stars know a bit about. "Office" exec producer Greg Daniels told the audience that he made a point of blending the lines between writers and performers on the show.

"I'm a big fan of English comedy," said Daniels, who was tapped to adapt Ricky Gervais' and Stephen Merchant's original "Office" for American auds. "Over there the actors and writers are the same people. So when we went to hire the writing staff, we were looking for people who could act too. And when we hired the acting staff, we were looking for improv people who could do their own material."

That's why several "Office" stars do double duty, writing for the show as well, including Mindy Kaling ("Kelly"), B.J. Novak ("Ryan") and Paul Lieberstein ("Toby").

Lieberstein, who happens to be Daniels' brother-in-law, had to be dragged in front of the camera. But he saw his role expand after earning a pretty powerful fan: NBC Entertainment prexy Kevin Reilly.

"Reilly saw the dailies and said, 'Who's that red-headed guy? Let's see more of him,'" Daniels said.

Daniels and company also give the thesps free range when it comes time to shoot their reality show-style "confessional" moments. Those scenes are scripted but the actors are also given a chance to improvise, which frequently ends up on the show.

The show's stars have quickly developed a cult following -- particularly in "The Office's" hometown, Scranton, Penn. Star Rainn Wilson, who plays the authority-loving Dwight Schrute ("He would have made an excellent Nazi," Wilson said), said the city rolled out the red carpet when he made a publicity visit.

"I was driven around town in a stretch Hummer limo by the mayor," said Wilson, who was also made an honorary Sheriff's deputy. "I felt like Justin Timberlake."

"The Office" panel was also the largest in recent Paley Festival history, with 23 cast and crew members on stage. As a result, the introductions alone took 15 minutes.

A few other random observations: Dude, in real life Brian is fast talking -- and quick witted. And whoa -- Angela speaks with a Southern accent in person! Also, the guy who plays Stanley seems a lot like his character (love it). And the season finale this May will be a full hour of "Office" goodness!

They also showed 15 minutes from the next episode of "The Office," and it delivered. Michael interacts with warehouse manager Darryl, and the scenes are priceless.

The Paley Fest continues this week with a busy schedule: "Brothers & Sisters" tonight; "The Closer" on Tuesday; "Dexter" on Wednesday; "Nip/Tuck" on Thursday; "Prison Break" on Friday and "Heroes" on Saturday. All events are at the Directors' Guild of America theatre on Sunset Blvd., and start at either 7 p.m. or 7:30 p.m.

SAG Awards: Good Night for the Underdogs; and After-Partyin' with L.A. Politicos

It was the Screen Actors Guild's turn Sunday night to hand out trophies, as the winter awards season marches on. I was there at the Shrine Auditorium, clapping hard at several well-deserved wins ("Ugly Betty's" America Ferrara; the ensemble cast of "The Office") and wondering whether "Grey's Anatomy" star Ellen Pompeo should have rehearsed her speech (the answer: yeah, she should have) when the show won.

It was a good night for thesps who didn't represent the stereotypical Hollywood ideal. In her surprise win, "Grey's Anatomy" star Chandra Wilson touched on it: "Just to be able to take this thing home to my girls, in particular, and hold it in front of them and say, 'Look, with this skin and this nose, and this height, and these arms,' you know, 'I’m here!'"

It was a good night for the Brits too -- something Eddie Murphy alluded to, kicking off his acceptance speech with a British accent. ("It’s just when the British people come and get the awards, it’s so smooth with their stuff," he said. "And I feel goofy up here ‘cause I don’t be winning stuff.")

The SAG show is pretty no-frills: No host, no entertainment, no montages (other than the obits), and few memorable moments. A ballyhooed "Mary Tyler Moore Show" reunion lasted all of three minutes, as cast members did little more than present the award for this year's best comedic ensemble.

At the after party, saw "The Office" exec producer Greg Daniels, and proceeded to gush about certain episodes.

Also spotted: Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (hovering by the dessert table), City Council chair Eric Garcetti and council president pro tempore Wendy Greuel.

Garcetti told me it was his first-ever SAG awards as well; he earlier ran into "The Closer" star Kyra Sedgwick, who works with Garcetti's ex-D.A. dad Gil (who's a consulting producer on the show).

I also asked the very personable Garcetti about his stint in the Navy reserve. He still has at least another year of training, but after that could easily be called into active duty -- much of his unit has already been sent overseas. Originally, he would have been termed out of the City Council in 2009 -- but with the passage of Prop R, Garcetti can now run for a third term.

Garcetti was a firm supporter of Prop R -- so it would be ironic if he couldn't take advantage of the relaxation of term limits himself; being called up for active duty would complicate things, obviously. (But that's still at least a year down the road.) Nice to finally meet Garcetti in person -- his CD-13 blog has linked to Franklin Avenue in the past, and we emailed last year over L.A.'s plans (or, ultimately, lack of plans) for its 225th birthday.