Joss Whedon

Office fans, unite. It’s Kate Flannery with the latest on-set dirt and such. First of all, many thanks to all the fans of Dwight, Meredith and the bat from last week’s episode, "Business School." I got so many bat calls and bat e-mails that I have to answer a few Frequently Asked Bat Questions:

• Yes, it was a real bat in the room.

• No, it wasn’t a real bat in the bag with my head. There were bat wranglers and puppeteers, and our director, Joss Whedon of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame, keeping us all in the right place. I loved working with Joss. He was really fun and very comfortable around bats! Rainn [Wilson] named the bat "Gary," since the bat came in nameless.

Rainn and I had a lot of fun doing this scene with a bag over my head. There was a lot of screaming, which doesn’t really bother me. I screamed a lot on stage in The Valley of the Dolls in NYC, and really learned how to scream often and not mess up my voice. I was a little sore the next day. Not bad. Rainn and I had to do many takes silently since loud sounds freak out bats. (FYI: Meredith also tells Oscar a "dick" joke in this episode. You can find it in the NBC.com deleted scenes.) But enough of bat - I mean, that.

That brings me to this week’s episode, "Cocktails." Deceptively titled, it is not the boozy Meredith episode you’ve all been waiting for! Too bad. This one is directed by the J.J. Abrams of Alias and Lost fame. This episode is so juicy! I was very moved by all the drama in the bar scene. Love is a messed-up thing this week, as Jan and Michael come out of the closet with their relationship, and Jim and Pam answer some more questions. Jenna [Fischer] really blew me away this week. I wasn’t in the Jan and Michael scenes, but Melora [Hardin] really goes for it, again. She does such a great job!

OK, J.J. Abrams is so cool to work with. What is cool about working with J.J.? Well, everything. He’s, like, the approachable, young, funny, nice guy you could tap on the shoulder to ask questions about the new boss, only you’d soon find out that he is the boss. He is a fan of the show, and he wanted to direct it. It’s very cool when a busy Hollywood director follows his heart. We are in such good hands. The cool thing for me is that I knew him from another part of my career, and J.J. is a very present guy who remembers everything. I used to wait on him at a restaurant. He came in to write. He would ask for my acting updates and all about my comedy act, The Lampshades. (Our next Lampshades show is Mar. 3. Go to TheLampshades.com) Now, I have to say, I have acted with a number of directors that I used to wait on, and J.J. is the only one who remembers me. He was very excited that things had come full circle for me. He is a rare bird. You can learn a lot about a person when you wait on them. Steve Carell was The 40 Year Old Virgin, but I was the 40-year-old waitress. I know. The drunken redhead in the corner of the office knows.

A few final things:

The Oscars are this Sunday, so please root for Steve Carell’s Little Miss Sunshine. I still think he should have been nominated. He will be there! And don’t forget, my bat buddy Rainn Wilson is hosting SNL this Saturday, Feb. 24. Don’t miss it. Please also check out The Office this Thursday night [at 8:30 pm/ET]. Same bat time, same bat channel.