Scrantonicity… “Double Date”

“The Office” double date in “Double Date” takes place at the upscale Scranton restaurant “Paparazzo’s.” This fine dining establishment would be the source of many fond memories for me, growing up in Scranton. This is where I would have gone before my senior prom, and where our wedding rehearsal dinner party would have been held, if indeed such a wonderful restaurant existed. Unfortunately, it does not. The Scranton area does have many nice Italian restaurants, so I suppose “The Office” should be given points for at least coming up with the name “Paparazzo’s,” which sounds like it ought to exist. If I owned an Italian restaurant in Scranton, and business was slow, I would quickly change the name, and slap a “Paparazzo’s” sign above the door.

So, there’s not much legitimate “Scrantonicity” goin’ on in “Double Date.” But we do have a few local references to point out: In the hilarious music video “Male Prima Donna,” Ryan does a rap in which he rhymes “prima donna” with “Lackawanna.” Scranton is located in Lackawanna County, where the Lackawanna River runs. “Lackawanna” is a native American word that means “stream that forks,” but I suspect more people will now know it as “the word that rhymes with ‘prima donna.’”

In the episode “Koi Pond,” Michael Scott confesses that he also fell into the fountain at Steamtown Mall. Alert LITO reader Dave not only alerted me that a fountain actually exists at Steamtown Mall, but he sent along a photograph of the fountain. As you can see from the puny size of the fountain, it would take the clumsiest, klutziest oaf imaginable to manage to fall into that body of water. Luckily, Michael Scott was up to the task.

Finally, alert LITO reader Suri wanted to know if the state of Pennsylvania has state-mandated Short-Term Disability to cover Pam’s maternity leave. I turned that technical question over to alert LITO-reader JoAnn, (OK, she’s my sister… ) and this is the state’s official response:

“Pennsylvania pregnancy leave law requires that written and unwritten employment policies and practices involving matters such as the commencement and duration of leave, the availability of extensions, the accrual of seniority and other benefits and privileges, reinstatement, and payment under any health or sick leave plan, formal or informal, must be applied to a disability due to the employee’s pregnancy or giving birth on the same terms and conditions as they are applied to other disabilities. Mandatory maternity leave policies that require a pregnant employee to take leave automatically at a specified time during pregnancy or to remain away from work after she has recovered from her disability are in violation of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act.”

So, there you have your answer, Suri, plain as day, in black and white. Could it be any clearer? That’s why “Scrantonicity” exists: to clear “all things Office” up. So, now… you owe me one…

~Bob