Scranton Insider on “The Coup”
As always, Dave gives us the view as a Scranton Insider:
First of all, let’s start with the best line from “The Coup.” Spoken by Michael while on the phone with Jan:
“You were at the dentist?” I almost wet myself.
Anyway, let’s talk about the great Scranton references that show up last week. First of all, when Pam was showing her new blouse to Kelly at Kelly’s desk, there was a photo on the wall of the “Electric City” sign. Scranton’s nickname is The Electric City, and there is a huge sign on the roof of one of the buildings downtown that bears the name. It’s moderately impressive when lit up at night, as the photo above this post indicates. I thought it was cool that Kelly had a photo of the sign next to her desk, but kind of odd that it was a daytime shot, making the sign really hard to see. I only recognized the roof of the building.
Dwight’s meeting with Jan at the Claiborne outlet is a bit of a puzzle. There is an outlet mall in Tannersville, which is south of Scranton, and I know that there is a Claiborne outlet in Tannersville (don’t ask me how). Yet, Jan lives in New York, and told Dwight that she was already “an hour outside of Scranton” when he called her from the parking lot. It seems odd that Jan would travel south to the outlet, only to turn around and go north (and through Scranton again) just to get home to New York. Maybe there’s an outlet in the other direction that I’m unaware of. Which is possible because, as you may have guessed, I’m not much of an outlet shopper.
Later, in the break room, Dwight gets a soda as he tells Angela that she can be “…in charge of the women” once he takes over the branch. Dwight is drinking a Crystal Cola, and that is a Scranton soda company. In fact, the Crystal building is only a few blocks from Dunder-Mifflin. Crystal sodas have made many appearances on the show. I was looking at the buttons on the soda machine to see if I could identify any others (thank you frame-by-frame. Wow, I’m a nerd) but couldn’t.
That’s it for this week. As an aside, every time there’s an outdoor scene, I just sigh as I know they aren’t really in Scranton…or even Pennsylvania. How I wish they were! Come on, guys! The gang from Cheers showed up in Boston to shoot some outdoor scenes! I’ll buy you all a hoagie!
October 7th, 2006 12:12
If Jan was going to the Crossings (outlets in Tannersville) she could have easily taken Highway 80 into the city. That seems to me to be quite possible. Also, there is an Ann Taylor outlet at the Crossings too.
October 7th, 2006 12:26
Woodbury Commons is like an hour and a half from Scranton (I now live in Fishkill so we send LOTS of people to ‘visit’ those outlets and they do have a Claiborne Mens outlet) so maybe she was there? It’s west and south to get to Scranton though so I think sort of more of the same problem. Yeah, I have too much time on my hands. Oh, and as a former Scrantonian I love the “Scranton Insider” feature on LITO.
October 7th, 2006 13:11
I was wondering what kind of soda they drank at lunch and on break…now it makes sense. Thanks for all the info! It’s very interesting!
October 7th, 2006 14:13
Since Jan did turn up in Stamford later that day, maybe she did stop somewhere in New York state?
October 7th, 2006 14:33
it makes complete sense to take 380 from scranton to tannserville where you would grab 80 on your way to NYC. and it takes a little less than an hour.
taking 84 W would go through woodbury commons, but i think tannserville would make more sense, she gets to save on sales tax and the drive is a bit shorter.
i was actually surprised it was accurate, at least nobody drove 1.5 hours for yogurt.
October 7th, 2006 15:30
Dwight tells her to take exit 40 I believe. Any help?
October 7th, 2006 16:25
We missed ya last week. Someone needs to be point out the absurdity of Michael and Dwight taking a train to Philadelphia.
October 7th, 2006 19:29
Tannersville outlets are on the way to NYC, about an hour from Scranton but not at exit 40. They are at exit 299 (formerly 45) so I guess Dwight was close enough.
No train to Philly, just Steamtown. I thought it was odd as well. Could have had Michael and Dwight in Michael’s beloved car which would have tied into this episode.
October 7th, 2006 20:55
Was it a train, Jim? My brain wants to believe it was a bus. Oh, who am I kidding.
There is NO train from Scranton to Philly. Shameful.
October 8th, 2006 09:09
about the outside shots, my sister works at the anthricite coal museum and she told me that the office recently came to shoot an exterior shot. so, you should look for that in an upcoming episode.
October 8th, 2006 09:20
I thought it was a bus at first, too. I didn’t hear the train whistle until second viewing, because when seeing it the first time I was screaming at the TV that they would never take a bus because it’s such an easy drive.
October 9th, 2006 06:40
Jim
That was essentially what happend to me. I was too busy going, “Um, what? What’s happening?” to fully get it. Oh well, you can’t get them all right.
October 9th, 2006 06:41
Tom: Is that the museum at McDade Park? I know that Michael mentioned it once. He asked the employee on the phone if the ride was a “free fall.”
Thanks for the awesome tip!
October 9th, 2006 19:23
Dave,
Yeah, it’s the museum at McDade Park. She’s an intern there and told me about three weeks ago that they filmed an exterior shot. I imagine it should be in the next couple of episodes so they can use the shot before the seasons change. Well, if it’s true, I guess you’ll finally have some real footage of Scranton to talk about in your Insider.
October 10th, 2006 09:35
A true Scrantonian would most certainly use a sniper rifle in Carentan. The MP40 is just too much firepower. Unnecessary for a trap in the gun room.
Dwight was dead on about a convertible being a ridiculous choice for this climate. It’s 70 degrees today, Friday we’ll be in the 40s for a high. The Sebring would be practical maybe only 4 months a year.
October 10th, 2006 20:00
I live in Scranton and the Electric City sign is on top of the “Electric Building” but the put the sign for Dunder Mifflin Paper Company in front of our Municipal Building which is prettydumb, because the building the used for the exterior of The Office” is literally just down the street on the corner of Adams and Wyoming Avenues, but hey, it’s Scranton, what more could you expect?
October 11th, 2006 13:06
Justine,
Adams and Wyoming Avenues run parallel. The tower on the PEnn paper that is in the begining of the show is on the corner of Vine St. and Penn Ave.
October 13th, 2006 09:34
CRUC,
I think the building that Justine might be referring to is on Adams (or Jefferson?) and Mulberry- the office tower with alternating columns of white concrete and windows. This building isn’t in the opening credits but is used a lot to transition between scenes, particularly in Season 1. I pass this building all the time driving up the main drag on Mulberry. That’s the one I visually associate with “The Office” since they cut to it so often in the middle of an episode.
October 15th, 2006 20:09
In re Avenues in Scranton, all Avenues ( save Lackawanna Ave. downtown) run basically North-South. All Streets run perpindicular to Avenues,i.e. East-West.
“Drives” and ” Lanes” are yuppie East Mountain terms. Courts are alleys.
Its simple!
October 19th, 2006 10:00
Carl,
the building that is/was used in the transition scenes is on Adams Ave. and Mulberry St. This is where Paper Magic is located (papermagic.com). I believe that it was this company on the back of a holiday card that was why Scranton was choosen has the location.