Mindy Kaling Fan's: Mindy Kaling 'The Office' is ready for its Niagara Falls nuptials

By Alan Pergament
News TV Critic

Greg Daniels didn't want information about Jim and Pam's wedding on "The Office" to flow like Niagara Falls.

In a recent interview, Daniels, the executive producer of the NBC comedy, lamented that "the promos had given away a lot of stuff" about tonight's hourlong episode, titled "Niagara." It airs at 9 p.m. on WGRZ-TV Channel 2.

Stars Jenna Fischer (Pam Beesly), John Krasinski (Jim Halpert) and Steve Carell (Michael Scott) made the NBC talk shows rounds last week to discuss the episode. NBC, which isn't sending the episode to critics for review, didn't screen the promos for Daniels.

"I like that we're getting the promos, and it's a really good episode," said Daniels. "I know they are very excited about it and they want to show it off, but..."

The "but" seemed to say he wished all the wedding details had been kept secret and perhaps Jim's romantic speech hadn't been in the promos.

Greg Daniels cleared up a talk show comment by Krasinski that suggested the Falls was chosen as a destination wedding site because the lovebirds didn't think co-workers would want to go there.

"It was not that no one would go, but that [Niagara Falls] was eight hours away [from Scranton, Pa., where the comedy takes place a the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company]," explained Daniels.

"The reason they picked a destination wedding is because they were kind of hoping it was just their family and not your co-workers. It was a little bit based on the experiences of some of the writers who decided not to get married in their hometowns to make it a little more difficult and reduce their guest lists."

Greg Daniels, however, said he believes the Niagara Falls setting gives the episode "grandeur" and is "going to be a big positive for Niagara Falls."

Mindy Kaling agrees. Kaling, who plays Kelly Kapoor on the show, is a co-executive producer of the series and co-wrote tonight's episode.

"It is the setting, I believe, of one of the most romantic weddings in television history," said Kaling, who came to Western New York in late August with some members of the cast and crew to film mostly exterior scenes in the Falls.

She said the fictional Jim and Pam originally thought that the setting might be a "little campy," and they chose the Falls because they are salespeople on a budget during a recession.

"It completely defies their expectations," said Mindy Kaling of the Falls. "The average American can enjoy really spectacular views and experiences on their wedding even if they are not millionaires."

The shot of the Falls isn't lengthy because, Kaling said, the footage "was so dramatic."

"We wanted to use it pretty sparingly so it could be special," said Kaling. She believes the footage of Pam and Jim on the Maid of the Mist also is very special.

"Getting footage on the actual Maid of the Mist was incomparable," said Kaling. "With all the money Hollywood has we could never have replicated that... That was just insanely beautiful. Going on the Maid of the Mist and seeing Niagara Falls up close blew all my expectations out of the water, no pun."

Without a doubt, the promos and the magazine covers are likely to bring many viewers to "The Office" who have never seen an episode.

The series premiered in March 2005, won the Emmy as Best Comedy in 2006 and also earned a Peabody Award. But it never has gotten a big audience locally or nationally, though it is a demographic hit. The season premiere had a 6.9 rating here (representing 6.9 percent of area households), 2.6 points of which came from DVR viewing.

Daniels understands that some new local viewers drawn by the filming at Niagara Falls may need a little background about the characters and the mockumentary format.

"If you've never seen it before, it would be nice to tell who all the characters are," said Daniels. "It is kind of like if you've never seen "The Mary Tyler Moore Show' or "Cheers' or something. The very first time, you're going to try and figure out who everybody is. But hopefully there is enough plain old humor here."

"The format is unusual," added Daniels. "The mockumentary format is sometimes off-putting if you are not used to it. So you have to realize they are aware that there are cameras filming them."

A parody, the series seeks laughs by documenting the odd way people behave in a typical office setting led by the paper company's buffoonish regional manager, Michael Scott (Carell). The documentary company also follows the personal lives of the workers.

Daniels noted that "the most long-standing and interesting relationship is between" Jim (who started as a salesman and now is co-manager with Michael) and Pam (who started as a receptionist and now is on the sales staff).

"You just have to know that a man and a woman are getting married and all of their co-workers are coming," said Daniels. "And the co-workers are making it difficult for them to have the romantic wedding that they are trying to have."

It is actually the second wedding that Pam planned. She originally was engaged to warehouse worker Roy Anderson (David Denman) before the relationship collapsed, their wedding was canceled and Pam fell in love with Jim. Pam's wedding plans weren't wasted. They were used in the first "Office" wedding of a secondary character, Phyllis.

It is easy to see why just about everybody loves Pam and Jim.

"Even though Jenna Fischer and John Krasinski are gorgeous, attractive people, their (character's) jobs and the fact that they are not wearing designer clothes or making a million dollars (makes them relatable)," said Kaling. "They are just two people you might even know falling in love in kind of a realistic way."

Longtime fans know the wedding fits perfectly in the tradition of "Office" episodes set in restaurants or in meetings where Michael often makes a fool of himself with some inappropriate behavior. It would be a shock if Michael didn't do it again (my guess is it will be in an awkward and embarrassing toast).

"That's a pretty good assumption," said Daniels of Michael making a fool of himself. He added that some co-workers are looking to change their images at the wedding.

"There are different people who are excited to go to this wedding and they have different goals. Like, there is this very heavyset accountant who totally wants to prove he can look really good."

From the promos, it is clear that Daniels is referring to Kevin (Brian Baumgartner).

Kaling also suggested that the episode could help the image of Niagara Falls and inspire more people to come there to get married or just to visit.

"I would love to check in a year to see what the statistics are," said Kaling.

source: http://www.buffalonews.com/entertainment/story/820796.html

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