The Office

Brian Baumgartner does not sound anything like the character he plays on The Office.  It's a little bit disorienting hearing him talk.  Today, we at BuddyTV were privy to a conference call with Brian Baumgartner (who plays Kevin on The Office) and Mindy Kaling (who works triple-duty on The Office, as an actor/writer/producer).  They were there to discuss the upcoming Office Webisodes, which will debut on NBC.com July 10, as well as the Office Games, which are taking place in Scranton, Pennsylvania.  Kevin is the focus of the four Office Webisodes, which will be released weekly, as he tries to secure a loan in order to pay off his gambling debts.  Mindy Kaling will host the Office Games in Scranton.  Kaling and Baumgartner discussed these events, plus all sorts of random Office musings.

It's hard to relay exactly what Kaling and Baumgartner talked ; since these people are funny, the tone was light-hearted and often sarcastic.  They were both great sports, and enjoyed discussing the show.  Both are clearly big fans of The Office.  Here are some of the highlights.

Mindy is very excited to eat food with the people in Scranton during the Office Games. Baumgartner will be in Scranton as well, but a week later than everyone else. Brian is excited to visit a charity in Scranton he played for in Celebrity Family Feud. 

They both love the new Webisodes.  Kevin is very much featured in them.  The gambling story-line is one that Brian loves to play.

Mindy will both be playing in and officiating the events during the Office Games. 

“Injury” is Mindy Kaling's favorite episode that she wrote.  She spends most of her time on the show writing, or preparing to write.  She is a producer now, so she always is on the look-out for script punch-ups. 

Brian's two favorite episodes are “Diversity Day” and the “Christmas Party” episode from the second season.  Mostly for nostalgic purposes. 

Brian thinks that Kevin, as a character, is the kind of person fans want to have a drink with.  Subsequently, if Brian is out on the town, people constantly buy him drinks and shots. 

Mindy Kaling is going to be sticking with the original show and not moving over to the spin-off.  Mindy does a lot of stand-up these days at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, and once the Fall hits she'll be start playing a lot of colleges. 

Mindy says that “the audience will be satisfied” with how much they see Toby and Ryan next season. “We haven't seen the last of Toby,” she tells us. 

Mindy will be competing in the Office Games-ending beet-eating competition.

Brian is extremely thrilled that Amy Ryan will be back as Holly.  He recently learned that the Kevin-Holly story will play out in the premiere.  He likes where the story takes Kevin.


-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image Courtesy of MTV)