Happy Birthday...

... Paul Lieberstein!!

The man behind everyone's favorite HR Representative (ok, everyone except Michael) is celebrating his birthday today!

Happy Birthday Paul! Enjoy!

Jenna Blogs!

Ok, so most of it is about a funny paparazzi moment, but she had this to say about the rest of this season...

"We start back to work on The Office the week of March 3rd. We are doing 6 episodes. The sixth will be an hour long finale. Our first episode back is The Dinner Party. Michael and Jan throw a dinner party for a few of the Dunder-Mifflin couples. It's HILARIOUS. We had just started filming when we got shut down. I don't know anything else from there. I'll be curious to see how the writers condense the stories with only 6 episodes left this season."

You can read her whole blog by clicking HERE.

Some SMALL News about The Office Convention

I've just heard from my contact with The Office Convention in Scranton, PA with a little bit of news.

Now, don't get too excited, they still do not have any information about a 2008 Convention, but I have been told they are at least in discussions about "future plans".

However, if you still want to hear about last year, the Convention's official site has a new link to an interview some of the organizers did with BlogTalkRadio.com.

Click HERE to listen to the interview (called The Rundown) - and if you listen closely, they talk about a special guest who may be visiting Scranton for their HUGE St. Patrick's Day Parade!

Listen around the 10 Minute mark for some comments on the Blogger's Breakfast including a mention of yours truly!

Click on ScrantonBranchOffice.com for all of our previous news, reports and first hand accounts from the Convention.

Happy Birthday...

to Leslie David Baker!!

The Manly behind Stanley the Manly is celebrating his birthday today!

Happy Birthday Leslie! It HAS to be more fun than Preztel Day!

Vance Refrigeration GEAR!!

Ok, we all own our Dunder Mifflin hats, our warehouse shirts, and even our Dunder Mifflin scrub pants!

But they are finally here!

Vance Refrigeration, owned by Bob Vance - Vance Refrigeration now has a hat, shirt and magnet for sale on NBC's store!!

WOOHOO!! Go show some Bob Vance Love!

Looking for a way to stay cool in the sun?
Look no further.
This Vance Refrigeration Vintage Trucker Cap not only blocks the sun's harmful rays, it also reminds you of your favorite refrigerator repair man... Bob Vance, Vance Refrigeration.
- $22

Vance is the name
Refrigeration's the game!
Wear this Vance Refrigeration T-Shirt and state it proudly...
"Bob Vance, Vance Refrigeration."

Shirt is light-weight, ring-spun and features a Euro-fit.

- $24

Place this Vance Refrigeration Magnet on your fridge and you'll never forget that happiness is a cold refrigerator. Just ask Bob Vance!
- $5

THE STRIKE IS OVER!!

Writers Guild Members Vote to End Strike

LOS ANGELES, NEW YORK -- The membership of the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) today voted overwhelmingly in favor of lifting the restraining order and ending their 100-day strike that began on Nov. 5. 3,775 writers turned out in Los Angeles and New York to cast ballots or fax in proxies, with 92.5% voting in favor of ending the work stoppage.
“The strike is over. Our membership has voted, and writers can go back to work,” said Patric M. Verrone, president of the Writers Guild of America, West. “This was not a strike we wanted, but one we had to conduct in order to win jurisdiction and establish appropriate residuals for writing in new media and on the Internet. Those advances now give us a foothold in the digital age. Rather than being shut out of the future of content creation and delivery, writers will lead the way as TV migrates to the Internet and platforms for new media are developed.”

“The success of this strike is a significant achievement not only for ourselves but the entire creative community, now and in the future,” said Michael Winship, president of the Writers Guild of America, East. “The commitment and solidarity of our members made it happen and have been an inspiration not only to us but the entire organized labor movement. We will build on that energy and unity to make our two unions stronger than ever.”
WGAW and WGAE members will next vote to ratify the tentative three-year contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The membership ratification vote will be conducted by mail and also at membership meetings on February 25, 2008.

The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) represent writers in the motion picture, broadcast, cable, and new media industries in both entertainment and news. For more information about the Writers Guild of America, West, please visit www.wga.org. For more information about the Writers Guild of America, East, please visit: www.wgaeast.org.

Strike SO Close to Being Over...

Hello folks,

The staff at the ScrantonBranchOffice.com is on a little hiatus recently and will return soon, with all the recaps, news and more that you expect. But we had to post some information here for you on the strike.

"Leadership for the Writers Guild of America spent most of the weekend briefing its members on a new contract that they say addresses the key issues that led to the 3-month-old strike. WGA membership on both coasts will meet again tomorrow to vote on whether to end the strike, with a vote to ratify the new contract to follow."
The Star Ledger

When will the shows come back? TVGuide.com has a constantly updated list. Click HERE to see it.
"The Office
Expected to shoot 5 to 10 new episodes to air in April/May"

""If the strike is called off, we are planning to do another six episodes this season," said Greg Daniels, show runner for NBC's "The Office.""
-Newark Star Ledger

Creed Thoughts - Jan 31st

Creed is back with his newest "thoughts" on the world.

In this installment Mr. Bratton talks about all the parts of a good band.

"Horns Section
You don’t need them, but for some reason, these guys will always buy the beer. I think they’re just glad they’re not in marching band anymore."

Read it all HERE.

NEW Cold Open and End Tag for Dunder Miffin Infinity

Last night NBC aired the second half of "Dunder Mifflin Infinity" and everyone was all in a tizzy because it had a new cold open and a new end tag! New material from "The Office"!

I wonder if this was always planned or if they used deleted scenes for this.

Anyway, I was tipped off to the videos. So here you go!

Cold Open


End Tag

ComingSoon.net Shows Leatherhead Poster

ComingSoon.net

Angela Kinsey Gets Some More Baby Swag

An article about pregnant celebrities mentions another baby goodies give away where our favorite pregnant Office accountant, Angela Kinsey, showed up.

"The amazing cotton and fashionable look has made many celebrity moms take notice. Elizabeth Rohm (Law and Order) and Angela Kinsey (the Office) both having girls, picked up the pink and chocolate trim set in time for their new arrivals."

Read all about it HERE.

Kevin.. oops I mean BRIAN...Blogs!

That's right! Since his first days in MySpace Brian Baumgartner has blogged as his Office character "Kevin Malone".

But the times, they are a changin'!

"For over 2 years... 27 months to be exact... I have written a blog here on MySpace from the perspective of Kevin. It started out as a way to bring publicity to the show. (When the show NEEDED all the publicity it could get!) Then it was fun. Really fun. People seemed to enjoy it. And even as Jenna and Angela, et al, decided to bring in their own voices, I decided to stick with this being from Kev. I mean, there were plenty of other cast members writing about the "behind the scenes", so you could go to them to read that. I wanted it to be fun. That Kevin Malone was still sitting at his desk at Dunder Mifflin, and talking about what happened week to week. Sure, He gave insight into award shows and special appearances (ala Scranton), but always from HIS perspective.

Well peeps, that had to change. With the writers strike entering it's 13th week, I have been having a hard time writing about anything from Kevin's perspective. This was not a "Pencil's down" thing. This was a ... what exactly do I say? How can Kevin plausibly talk about the writer's strike, and maintain he was still sitting at his desk at Dunder Mifflin?"

Read his entire blog, which is really well written, by clicking HERE.

OFFICE WINS SAG!!

They did it! They did it!

Vanquishing all foes, The Office won Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series!

Congrats everyone!!!

Jenna Fischer was selected to speak. They really love each other, everyone on the stage looks very touched and happy. They dedicated the award to their crew.

Transcript of Jenna's Acceptance Speech

Photos, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4

Video of John Krasinski trying to make it through an interview with Lisa Rinna on TVGuide.com

Quotes from Office Cast about 2008 SAGs

Video of the ENTIRE Cast backstage with Access Hollywood

Video of The Win and Jenna Fischer's Acceptance Speech

Video of John Krasinski speaking with Access Hollywood

Video of Rainn Wilson talking to E! on the Red Carpet

Video of Jenna Fischer on the Red Carpet

Video of Angela Kinsey, Kate Flannery and Brian Baumgartner on the Red Carpet.

TBS Video of Red Carpet with Jenna, Leslie, Ed, B.J., Brian, Angela, John, and Rainn

Steve Carell is Scared of Ricky Gervais?

Jenna Fischer's Acceptance Speech for "The Office"'s 2008 SAG Win

Here is the transcript of what Jenna Fischer said while accepting the award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Television Comedy.

"Hi. Thank you, they voted me to speak if we won, which we didn't expect. Thank you so much. We really love working together. We love working together and being together. As an ensemble a lot of the people in this group struggled for a long time as non working actors. By long time, I mean like 8, 12, 15, 20 years. So, we're always grateful, we don't take it for granted, thank you so much. But there's another part of our ensemble - that's our crew. We want to dedicate this to them tonight. We can't wait to go back to work with them. Thank you so much."

"The Office" Quotes about SAG 2008

Here is a listing of all the stories about last night's win. This will be updated as we find more.

Click on the links to read the entire articles.

Steve Carell (on Ricky Gervais): "I was downstairs in the restroom, and he was there, and he leaned over the urinal, looked at me, and said, 'I knew it!' That's my Ricky Gervais story."
Hollywood Reporter

B.J. Novak (on WGA Strike): "I'm hearing, ear to the streets, that it'll be over soon. ... There are smart people on both sides, and hopefully they'll figure something out."
MTV.com

Leslie David Baker (on post show plans): "We'll probably stay out all night because we're not working."
Variety