Meet Scranton, Pa. -- Inspiration For 'The Office'
POSTED: 8:59 am EDT April 27,
2007
UPDATED: 6:40 pm EDT May 4,
2007
There’s a hit NBC show that has changed lives in one Pennsylvania town."The Office" is set in Scranton, the county seat of Lackawanna County, and NBC 10’s Tim Furlong headed north to find out what life is really like there.He hung out at Farley's Restaurant, one of the real establishments mentioned by the show's fake Scrantonians.
John Krasinski, the actor who plays Jim in the show, shot some video while driving through town for the show's opening, and it's the only video you'll see of the city.Still, most local residents told NBC 10 they love the show, that it's been good to Scranton, and that the city has been pretty good to the show, as well.It's set in a fictional paper company, but behind the fake company, the fake boss and the bizarre characters, there is a very real town with real people, many locals said.Still, not everyone here has seen the show.
Video: ’The Office’ Reality Tour
"Well, I've never seen it, really. I've heard about it," said one man.And not everyone who has seen the show likes it, either."I'm not entertained by it," another man said.Most people said they love it, from the man on the street who said, "I'm crazy about it," to the city's solicitor, who said, "I am definitely an "Office" buff."The show's producers wanted to set the show in a gritty, industrial town not too far from the big cities. And Scranton's imperfectness, it's realness, it turns out, made it perfect."It's close to New York, it's close to Philadelphia, it's close to Pittsburgh, but it's none of those things. It's kind of an underdog town that maybe doesn't get the respect it deserves," said Kate Flannery, who plays the character Meredith on the show.But that is starting to change."From a morale standpoint and a (public relations) standpoint, the show has been just tremendous for our city," one official said."I looked at it as, 'This is NBC. This is a sitcom. This could be big,'" said Mari Potis of the Scranton Chamber of Commerce.The producers send Potis a lot of 'Office' promotional materials because she sends them a lot of Scranton stuff.All of the Scranton props you see on the show -- like a chamber of commerce plaque, the Froggy 101 FM bumper sticker on Dwight's desk, the Scranton pencil cup on Pam's desk -- is all legit stuff.And then there are the references to real places in town, like Farley's Restaurant, which got a mention. They reciprocated by creating a Michael Scott burger.When a delivery man wearing a Niko-Bella Deli uniform delivered Michael his bologna with ketchup and pickles birthday sandwiches, the real store was excited to see its fake delivery guy on screen."We were all excited about it. We had a little party here and we all watched it together," said one deli worker.Most of the businesses have had one-time mentions, but one bar in Scranton has become the Dunder Mifflin hangout -- Poor Richard's Pub.The real Poor Richard's Pub is in a bowling alley.Owner Roy Manelli doesn't really like the show, but he said he doesn't mind the business all of the mentions generate at his pub.He even sells T-shirts with a famous "Office" quote: "Ain't no party like a Scranton party, 'cause a Scranton party don't stop!!!"So, if you're a thirsty "Office" fan in Scranton, Roy said, "Please visit Poor Richard's Pub. We'd be happy to see you. Say hello."As you can imagine, folks in these parts like the hometown references, but the inaccuracies drive them insane.Some examples are that scenes in the show sometimes involve gatherings at the local Hooters restaurant, when there really isn't one in Scranton, said the Niko-Bella employee.The city solicitor also noted that there's no booze cruise on Lake Wallenpaupack, which has been a topic on one episode.No, Scranton doesn't have any Chili's restaurants, either.Despite the little no-nos, Scrantonians are able to laugh at the show. Theirs is a city on the way back up, and "The Office" is helping their cause."They're promoting Scranton, Pa., worldwide, and we're just kind of taking the ride," Potis said.Furlong reports that the city is trying to plan an "Office" convention with the entire cast.
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Video: ’The Office’ Reality Tour
"Well, I've never seen it, really. I've heard about it," said one man.And not everyone who has seen the show likes it, either."I'm not entertained by it," another man said.Most people said they love it, from the man on the street who said, "I'm crazy about it," to the city's solicitor, who said, "I am definitely an "Office" buff."The show's producers wanted to set the show in a gritty, industrial town not too far from the big cities. And Scranton's imperfectness, it's realness, it turns out, made it perfect."It's close to New York, it's close to Philadelphia, it's close to Pittsburgh, but it's none of those things. It's kind of an underdog town that maybe doesn't get the respect it deserves," said Kate Flannery, who plays the character Meredith on the show.But that is starting to change."From a morale standpoint and a (public relations) standpoint, the show has been just tremendous for our city," one official said."I looked at it as, 'This is NBC. This is a sitcom. This could be big,'" said Mari Potis of the Scranton Chamber of Commerce.The producers send Potis a lot of 'Office' promotional materials because she sends them a lot of Scranton stuff.All of the Scranton props you see on the show -- like a chamber of commerce plaque, the Froggy 101 FM bumper sticker on Dwight's desk, the Scranton pencil cup on Pam's desk -- is all legit stuff.And then there are the references to real places in town, like Farley's Restaurant, which got a mention. They reciprocated by creating a Michael Scott burger.When a delivery man wearing a Niko-Bella Deli uniform delivered Michael his bologna with ketchup and pickles birthday sandwiches, the real store was excited to see its fake delivery guy on screen."We were all excited about it. We had a little party here and we all watched it together," said one deli worker.Most of the businesses have had one-time mentions, but one bar in Scranton has become the Dunder Mifflin hangout -- Poor Richard's Pub.The real Poor Richard's Pub is in a bowling alley.Owner Roy Manelli doesn't really like the show, but he said he doesn't mind the business all of the mentions generate at his pub.He even sells T-shirts with a famous "Office" quote: "Ain't no party like a Scranton party, 'cause a Scranton party don't stop!!!"So, if you're a thirsty "Office" fan in Scranton, Roy said, "Please visit Poor Richard's Pub. We'd be happy to see you. Say hello."As you can imagine, folks in these parts like the hometown references, but the inaccuracies drive them insane.Some examples are that scenes in the show sometimes involve gatherings at the local Hooters restaurant, when there really isn't one in Scranton, said the Niko-Bella employee.The city solicitor also noted that there's no booze cruise on Lake Wallenpaupack, which has been a topic on one episode.No, Scranton doesn't have any Chili's restaurants, either.Despite the little no-nos, Scrantonians are able to laugh at the show. Theirs is a city on the way back up, and "The Office" is helping their cause."They're promoting Scranton, Pa., worldwide, and we're just kind of taking the ride," Potis said.Furlong reports that the city is trying to plan an "Office" convention with the entire cast.
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