The Office Ladies Podcast: 10 Things Fans Learned About Jim And Pam's Engagement Episode
In season 5 of The Office, one of the most long-awaited moments between Jim and Pam happened: they became engaged. In 'Weight Loss: Part 1' and 'Weight Loss: Part 2,' viewers were taken on a roller coaster, with the office shenanigans and the yearning hearts between Jim and Pam keeping fans on the edge of their seats. With Pam away at art school, long-distance began to wear on the couple, so the couple decided to meet in the middle of their two places at a gas station.
Before the two could formally greet each other, Jim got down on one knee and proposed to Pam. The moment was so spur of the moment that it caught fans off-guard. Even the office workers didn't know it happened until days later. To shed more light on the episode, Jenna Fischer (Pam) and Angela Kinsey (Angela) shared some fascinating details about the monumental episode on their podcast, Office Ladies.
10 The Cats Of Pratt
One of the things that Jenna and Angela always include in their podcast is Fast Facts. These facts can range from fun things in the episode to deep dives on locations and beyond. One of the facts from the episode had to do with Pam's art school, Pratt.
As two cat ladies themselves, they found out that the university has an Instagram account (@PrattCatts) dedicated to the stray cats that roam Pratt's campus. Apparently, these cats are famously known around Pratt and students care for them and send their photos into the account to be shared with the rest of Pratt fans.
9 Holly's Real Name
In the episode 'Weight Loss: Part 1,' Jenna and Angela both found out something that they weren't aware of before: Holly's real name is Hollis. In one scene, Holly's nametag is shown on her desk, which clearly says Hollis "Holly" P. Flax.
At this stage in the series, Holly and Michael are still best friends who aren't romantically involved yet. The feelings are clearly mutual but they held back when Jan showed up pregnant.
8 Dwight's Butt Slap Was Improvised
Angela Kinsey was known in the improvised comedy circuits before signing on as Angela Martin in The Office. Because of her love of improvisation, she and her co-stars improvised when there was wiggle room in between the tremendous writing.
In 'Weight Loss: Part 1,' Angela was tired of Andy's honeymoon suggestions and quickly called Dwight to meet her in the warehouse for one of their afternoon delights. As Angela is walking into the backroom, Dwight slaps her butt playfully and Angela says "hey!" while giggling.
As it turns out, that was Angela Kinsey's real reaction because Dwight's slap was totally improvised and she had no idea it was coming. Angela explained that she and Rainn Wilson (Dwight) had a playful, respectful relationship where this improvisation was done in jest.
7 Where Were Pam's Pratt Scenes Filmed?
One of the most interesting parts of Office Ladies is their explanation of how and where the show was filmed. Fans wondered where Pam's scenes at Pratt were filmed since a majority of the show is filmed around the Scranton Business Park.
In the podcast episode 'Weight Loss: Part 2,' Jenna Fischer admitted that every scene where Pam was supposed to be at Pratt was actually filmed on the University of Southern California's campus. Pam's dorm room, classrooms, and hallways were all filmed at USC.
6 Andy & Angela's Wedding Registry Was Real
At this stage in the series, Angela was engaged to Andy but still sleeping with Dwight. In a deleted scene, Angela justifies her decision by keeping both relationships separate. With Andy planning his dream wedding and Angela turning down every idea, it made fans wonder what their wedding was going to be like.
According to Office Ladies, to get fans excited for the potential nuptials, NBC created a real wedding website for Angela and Andy, where fans could see the couple's wedding registry and the audition tape of Andy's acapella group. Sadly, the website is no longer live.
5 That Rain Wasn't Real
While the office is worrying about losing weight for the sake of a corporate challenge, Jim was driving in the rain to meet Pam at a gas station. Jenna Fischer admitted that the rain was not computer-animated nor was it real rain — it was fake rain. Production had a machine that shot out real rain and recycled itself to keep the rain continuously pouring and appear realistic.
4 Where Was The Gas Station That Jim Proposed To Pam?
Diehard Office fans most likely want to go to the very gas station that Jim proposed to Pam and see it for themselves. However, it's not going to be as easy as they think because the gas station was a set made by production.
The gas station was based on a real gas station that creator, Greg Daniels, had been to as a child. To create the gas station, they used Google Streetview to build it exactly as is. When it came to finding the perfect location to build a fake gas station, they used a Best Buy parking lot in Southern California that Jenna Fischer has shopped at in real life. The entire gas station was built in nine days.
3 The Cars Passing The Gas Station Weren't CGI
Knowing now that it was fake rain falling from the sky and a fake gas station that the actors were standing at, how did production make it seem like cars were whizzing by them like they were on a highway?
Fischer explained that they chose the Best Buy parking lot because of its size. With so much space, production created a "four-lane circular race track" that surrounded the gas station. They then hired between 30 and 35 drivers to drive cars and trucks around (and around) the track, going 50 miles per hour. Fischer noted how real the entire set felt because the cars were going so fast, thus creating wind and noise.
2 The Reason For The Location
Considering Jim and Pam were one of the most beloved couples in the series, fans were not expecting Jim to propose to Pam at a gas station of all places. His original idea of proposing to her at Toby's goodbye party was far more romantic and thoughtful. However, the ladies noted it was all on purpose.
Greg Daniels felt like fans would have never guessed that Jim would be proposing at a gas station at the moment, which created a shock effect. Furthering that thought, Jenna and Angela noted that most finales end with an engagement, which is why they made the proposal happen at the start of the series.
1 Jim's Proposal Cost How Much!?
A fake gas station, imitation rain, and a race track on a borrowed parking lot cost the show more money for a single scene than any other moment in The Office. For 52 seconds of screentime, the entire proposal shot cost $250,000.