Trivia / The Office USS 2 E 22 Casino Night

• The Cast Showoff: Actually an aversion for Kevin's drumming. Brian Baumgartner had never played drums before the episode.
• Enforced Method Acting: For logistical reasons, the Big Damn Kiss had to be shot the day before the parking lot scene. Because of this, director Ken Kwapis was worried that John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer couldn't convey the proper off-balance emotions for the kiss scene, having not already performed the Anguished Declaration of Love scene together, so he made sure that Krasinski and Fischer were kept apart from one another for an hour before the scene was shot.
• What Could Have Been:
  • The episode was originally supposed to be standard length, but then Greg Daniels mentioned he wanted to make it a "Super-Size" episode in an interview and the resulting fan campaigning convinced NBC to grant his wish.
  • Kevin's cover band was originally going to be a Steve Miller tribute band called Jokers & Tokers, and the scene was filmed as such, but the show couldn't reach an agreement with Miller on song rights. If you look closely at the Scrantonicity video you'll notice that Kevin's lip movements don't match "Don't Stand So Close to Me"; they had to do quick cuts on the already-filmed Miller song to cover it up.
  • While the writing staff was pleased with Steve Carell's script, they originally wanted to have the final scene be the first time we actually see the documentary crew. The crew would be doing something while still recording audio, then when they heard Jim and Pam kissing, they'd hurry up and try to capture it on film. Carell and Ken Kwapis rejected this, feeling that it took away from the scene's emotional punch, and they eventually won out. Still, it's a bit of a Fridge Logic situation to ponder why Pam would've let them film her calling her mother in the first place (though a possible justification exists in that they're filming through a window, suggesting that they're filming surreptitiously and she is unaware of their presence).
• Written by Cast Member: While several cast members are also writers on the show, this episode was written by Steve Carell. Carell pitched the idea of Michael holding a Casino Night to Greg Daniels, who decided it would make a great season finale, then assigned the script to Carell. The actor's busy schedule (at the time he was juggling the show, filming Evan Almighty, and hosting his parents while they stayed at his house on vacation) left him precious little time for writing- so he penned the entire script in one night. Carell ended up winning a Writers Guild award for Best Comedy Episode.