The Office stars Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey reveal the dangers of shooting season 9 episode 4, "Work Bus." The episode was written by Brent Forrester, the tenth of eleven episodes he wrote for the show. "Work Bus" was directed by Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston, his only directing credit in the series.
The season 9 episode finds Jim (John Krasinski) trying to finagle the week off by convincing office landlord Dwight (Rainn Wilson) that the building is unsafe. In response, Dwight shuts down the office and rents a bus for the staff to work on. "Work Bus" has been cited as a highlight of The Office season 9, also the show's last, which had garnered some criticism since the departure of series star Steve Carell.
In their new book, The Office BFFs: Tales of The Office from Two Best Friends Who Were There (via Mashable), Fischer and Kinsey share details on why the episode was so dangerous to film. One of the main reasons was filming on an actual moving bus, requiring the fourteen actors, four crew members, and a bevy of props to be squeezed onto the vehicle. While filming a driving stunt, the cast was unexpectedly thrown to one side, pinning them to the windows of the bus and tossing all the props around, but luckily no one was hurt. Read an excerpt about The Office season 9 episode below:
We were all bouncing down the road, blissfully unaware of what was about to happen. We were saying our lines and everything was going smoothly when all of a sudden, we heard the assistant director yell, 'Swerve!' The stunt driver swerved HARD. I mean he cranked that wheel like Cole Trickle in Days of Thunder. As a result, the entire cast and contents of the bus went flying into the side of the party bus! What no one had considered when they told this stunt driver to swerve as hard as he could without flipping the bus over was that none of our office furniture, props, or set decorations were securely tied down.
With the show's popularity, The Office stars are known for sharing anecdotes about making the series, with many being lighthearted and humorous, in contrast to the real dangers while filming "Work Bus." For example, Fischer and Kinsey continue by saying the vehicle had a mobile air conditioner hooked up to it to cool the actors, as the bus' air conditioner was too loud for shooting. Not long after, Fischer recalls smelling an odd odor, later discovering the air conditioner's intake hose was right next to the exhaust pipe of the bus, which would have continued to poison the cast if gone unacknowledged.
Since its conclusion almost a decade ago, there have been rumors about a reunion or spin-off for The Office that have been fueled by the show's ongoing popularity. Such a reunion would likely bring back even more memories for The Office cast, even if some of them would rather forget about episodes like "Work Bus." However, it is a part of the sitcom's legacy, for better or worse.
Source: The Office BFFs (via Mashable)