Life In The Office

Every new Office episode offers the frightening possibility of a paucity of Scrantonicity; a scarcity of sightings that will render this column moot. One day I just might have to throw in the towel, and sadly say “Nothing to see here… move along.” I actually thought it was a bad sign that the title was “Mrs. California.” I would have felt better if it was called “Mrs. Pennsylvania.” But no matter; thanks to the enthusiastic prop department, there was just enough new stuff to keep me going; so once again, here I go… 

The first new sighting of a local prop was the burgundy coffee mug on Dwight’s “stand-up” desk; the cup is emblazoned with the Sheetz logo. A visit to the Sheetz website includes a link to their “Specialty Coffeez,” which shows burgundy “to-go” cups. So burgundy must be the company color, and ending words with a “z” must be like their company “calling card.” (That gimmick getz on my nervez.) Anyway, this probably solves an old Scrantonicity mystery about red coffee cups with logos that I couldn’t identify. It must have been Sheetz. Later in the episode, that same coffee mug shows up on Kathy’s desk. Kathy is Pam’s replacement during maternity leave, and either she has a similar Sheetz mug, or she is mug-sharing with Dwight. Hmm… Could this be a harbinger of another office romance? No, I don’t think so either.

Darryl runs into Dwight in the break room, and there is a Scranton Times-Tribune newspaper on the table. Later, when Dwight is showing off his new “gymnasium” to Darryl, he picks up, and offers to rip in half, a Scranton Yellow Pages book. What a creative use of a prop!

Next up is one of those sightings that makes this all worthwhile; By now, we’re used to the “Scranton-isitic” soda cans and the yogurt cups and the cereal boxes. But then the truck pulls up to the Dunder-Mifflin door to drop off Dwight’s new exercise machines. At first glance, the side of the truck is marked with the generic words “Fitness Equipment Rentals.” That gets the job done, pushes the point across about what’s going on here, as if the visuals of the treadmills and ellipticals weren’t enough. But then the prop department goes that extra mile on the treadmill; a different angle on the scene shows a distinct logo on the side of the truck: The Fitness Headquarters, which of course is a real business up on Route 6, the Scranton-Carbondale Highway. What a hoot! For a two-second view of the side of a truck that wasn’t even the focal point of the scene, they went through the trouble to slap a large local logo on the panel. I love this show! I even made note of the fact that the truck’s mudflaps said “Great Dane,” and I googled that; “Great Dane Trailers” are for rent across the United States. You can rent one in Scranton. Or, if need be, you can rent one in Van Nuys, California. Wherever you find yourself… or your show.

Back inside the office, Toby is asking Susan if she has her passport; over her shoulder is a refrigerator magnet for Boscov’s, a department store that is one the “anchor” stores for the downtown “Steamtown Mall.” Later, Susan is shown clearing off a spot on one side of Kevin’s desk. Susan is pushing away a coffee mug that is labeled “Scranton Running Company,” with a barefoot logo. This fitness company is located at the “Ice Box Sports Complex,” whose name can be seen every week in the Office opening credits, on the banner stretching across Washington Avenue. There is already an acknowledgement on the Running Company website about the sighting of the mug on Kevin’s desk. So, I’m not the only one that is mining for this kind of minutiae! Oh, and one last “find,” while mining Kevin’s desk: a hot pink plastic ruler marked “Pennstar,” which is a local bank. And I guess I should mention the NEPA Miners’ football helmet, in keeping with the “miner” theme.

Outdoor scenes can be tricky, but when Jim scrambles to the top of the Dunder-Mifflin building, there was nothing in the view that was jarring. There was enough greenery to semi-sub for Scranton, and the background topography, probably the San Gabriel Mountains, didn’t look all that different than the closer, smaller hills that Scranton is nestled between. The atmosphere had a similar “thickness” to it, too, which makes everything have a soft edge. Overall, I would have to say that the carefully cropped views were not too shabby. Like I’ve mentioned before, at least the “Hollywood” sign isn’t visible.

Lastly, in the first deleted scene, Jim seeks to hide from Robert California by running into the Vance Refrigeration office. The secretary sits at her desk, and on the wall beside her is a cartoon-y overhead map of somewhere. In the lower right hand corner of the map are letters, which resemble “CMC.” That would be the “Community Medical Center,” which is one of the main hospitals in Scranton. But that doesn’t make much sense with that overhead map, which is possibly a campus of sorts. I’m not gonna give up trying to identify this, but that’s not the only thing in that office that doesn’t make sense. On the shelf behind the secretary is a large Dunder-Mifflin catalogue. What is a DM catalogue doing there? Shouldn’t Vance Refrigeration have a Vance Catalogue handy? It just seems like a careless oversight of the hardworkin’ prop department; but they should know that there are nuts out there that notice these mistakes! That’s why I point them out.

~ Bob