Ready to go back to the future? Parks and Recreation returns to NBC on Jan. 13 to kick off its final season, and we pick up where the season 6 finale cliffhanger left us—in the year 2017. Now Andy (Chris Pratt), aka Johnny Karate, has a badass TV show, Tom (Aziz Ansari) is something resembling a mogul, and Leslie (Amy Poehler) is still referencing The Notebook. Don’t let us drone on — take a quick first peek at future Pawnee below.
5. "Solid start to the season" In response to Reply # 0
The good:
Jon Hamm as incompetent Ed. Please bring him back.
Everything involving Andy and April. Especially their visit to the haunted house and Andy's trip to Chicago.
Werner Herzog as the owner of the Haunted House.
Joan's mental breakdown ("Greetings, Commissioner Gordon and people of Gotham").
Ben and Tom crying after Tom's belated reading of his speech.
Everything with Tammy 2.
Leslie and Ron's deprogramming session of Jamm, especially Leslie's Tammy impression and the repeated slapping of Jamm.
The not-as-good:
Do we really another "Leslie's big project" arc to stretch out the entire final season? And do we really need a whole season of Ron and Leslie hating each other, up until the final episode? Especially with the ending so incredibly telegraphed in the very first episode? I realize with the way these episodes are booked, the season is going to be over in like six more weeks, but I would really like it if they wrapped this "Leslie vs. Ron" shit up by next week or the week after at the latest.
13. "there's a 50/50 chance there's a good chunk of Hamm." In response to Reply # 5 Sat Jan-17-15 11:17 AM by Nodima
------------- Although Hamm’s character Ed was fired for incompetence moments after his first appearance (Leslie Knope somehow managed to find an employee worse than Gary Jerry Larry Terry), Entertainment Weekly confirmed with showrunner Mike Schur that we’d see Ed in passing at least one more time:
If I have my way, every episode where you see events that take place before that moment will include a shot of (Hamm) doing something insanely incompetent. -------------
14. "Yet another case where if they ended the series right there..." In response to Reply # 0
...I would have been cool. And I really don't mean that in a bad way. I find it fairly amazing that Schur and company consistently hit the right emotional notes exactly when they need to. The second episode in that block is one of the better eps they've ever done. Def. in their top 10.
And as some have noted, it's a case where the "two episodes per night" thing really worked. The first of the two would have felt fairly thin as a stand-alone. Combined with "Ron and Leslie", it was a great hour of TV.
Other highlights:
"It's fucking milk." (c) Ron Swanson.
Tom translating for Ron.
Gerry's/Terry's tales of Notary Public.
Ben's complete exasperation at said tales. And offering Leslie the opportunity to rename the triplets Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
April and Andy. As usual.
Ron covered with post-it notes.
Lesie ad-libing "We Didn't Start the Fire." I've heard, "Oprah starts a turtle farm" in my head all day.
23. ""Now nobody can enjoy the popcorn!"" In response to Reply # 0
Always good to see Fearless Leader getting his shine on.
Another very good, very sweet episode that could have served as the series' finale if they'd wanted it to. Ben gets his confidence back to run for office again, Donna gets married, Tom has a moment, Ginuwine gets snubbed, and Gary gets his name back. Damn, these guys know how to do feel good today without being cheesy.
29. "They're absolutely kiling it this season" In response to Reply # 0
Two more great episodes tonight. Some great callbacks, like Ron's love of puzzles and the low cal calzone zone. And not only do we get the Langman's, but we get Brandi Maxx on the same panel!
And them shitting on men's rights activists was fantastic. Perfectly cast Chris Gethard. I'm gonna have to go back and look at all the signs again, but replacing Rosie the Riveter with Hulk Hogan might be one of my favorite jokes the show has ever done.
30. "it impresses me how well they write for each character" In response to Reply # 0
every tiny detail and each line delivered by all the cast members fits perfectly with their persona...they also have managed to get us to care about all of them equally. this is a great show. this season has been batting at 1000
37. "Damn, both this week's episodes were amazing." In response to Reply # 0
I don't know which ep. I liked more, but I'm leaning towards the Johnny Karate finale. Though Gary becoming mayor of Pawnee is hard to deny.
This is an amazing season of comedic TV. And everything ending on high note for all the characters has been great and is completely earned. And all the call backs to previous characters have worked; good to see the re-appearence of Rudd, the psychosis of the Ralphio siblings ("PILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"), and all hail Eagleton Ron.
Wonderful use of guest appearances too, with Cena as a Johnny Karate guest. And we finally get the guy they wanted to play Mayor Gunderson. The smiling corpse would have been enough, but the farewell video absolutely sealed it.
43. "Predictions for the final ep?" In response to Reply # 0
With Harris' death, the tone of things on the outside have understandably gone from pure celebration to bittersweet. But I'm still pretty excited about this one.
So, for the final hour: Leslie officially gets the promotion (possibly we see the confirmation hearing) Ben gets elected to congress They possibly show Tom's wedding They name the National Park in Pawnee after Leslie.
Possible: Gary goes on to become the full-time mayor, rather than just the two-month interim mayor Ron Swanson goes back to work for the government. Possibly takes Leslie's old job.
Cameos (certain): Rashina Jones and Rob Lowe as Ann and Chris. Leslie's mom (though she hasn't been on the show in years)
Cameos (hopeful): Lucy Lawless Jonathan Banks Louie CK Detlef Schrmepf and Roy Hibbert
59. "I think he pitched it as the cover for the City of Pawnee guide during S..." In response to Reply # 58
I remember he slipped it into a presentation for something important that the parks department was doing and something alone the lines of "Who is this mystery man? What's he thinking about?"
If it was for the City of Pawnee guide, the cover photo ended up being the one of April, Andy, and Champion that they zoomed in on earlier in the episode.
63. "Another one (but no screenshot):" In response to Reply # 52
In one of the flash-forwards of Garry being continually re-elected Mayor (the one in particular with the guy complaining about how his re-election shows that democracy doesn't work), there's a news-crawl in the background that reads: "Belichick on AlienGate: None of our players are aliens."
60. "So Leslie is eventually elected President, right?" In response to Reply # 0 Wed Feb-25-15 12:59 PM by mrhood75
Which explains her and Ben's security detail at Gary's funeral. And her saying, "As I embark on a new adventure..." during her speech to U. of Indiana after serving two terms as Governor. I guess it could be Ben who's the President, but the Secret Service-type guy says something to her first.
Of course, it's intentionally left open to interpretation. Sepinwall even e-mailed Schur about it, and he was cryptic, saying it was their Soprano's "go to black" moment. I'm going along with her becoming President.
But yeah, great finale. Perfect even. They didn't go for a lot of laughs, but still got some huge ones (Leslie shoving Ben out of the way to hug Ann was hilarious, and everything that involed Jean Ralphio was phenomenal). And the heartfelt and genuine moments were amazing. Ron paddling his canoe with a smile on his face was, again, perfect. Really going to miss this show.
64. "Great Finale. Almost perfect." In response to Reply # 0
The only thing that was weird about it is that Ben was still looking into the camera with those Jim Halpert-ass looks even though it seemed that they dropped the mockumentary format awhile ago.
But I also wanted to make a point that people like Alan Sepinwall and others have made about Ron Swanson: dude was a masculine character who also loved the shit out of strong women, the WNBA, and other than maybe "Hunting Trip," never really seemed to be threatened by women. He was basically a guy that strongly represented certain strong ideas of masculinity without the ugliness of say, a Barney on HIMYM. Good shit.
66. "Choked up towards the end" In response to Reply # 0
Parks has the most lovable collection of characters out of all the TV shows I've ever watched, or at least in the top 3 (shoutout to Futurama & Firefly). Think I'll rewatch the series from the beginning to ease the pain...
69. "In an age of misanthropy and anti-heroes. This show stood alone. " In response to Reply # 0
It was an unabashedly positive sitcom that was still funnier than 90% of the stuff on TV today.
I really can't say how much I'm going to miss this show, and how well it went out during its last season.
I still can't believe this show is so good. That first season was middling, but man they went to the gym in the off season because it shot up to the top of the comedy game in that second season and it just kept getting better.
"All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts..." -The Bard
71. "Come on now...the board meeting at Ron's company was perfect." In response to Reply # 70
Don: Should we discuss your severance package?
Ron: Just give me what the board thinks is fair.
Don: Agreed.
Lawyer: What just happened here?
Don: Ron retired. there's no use dwelling on the past. Do you have any other new business.
Lawyer: Well you need a new chairman now.
Don: I'll do it. Next item.
Lawyer (exasperated): I keep telling you that isn't how corporate governance works!
"All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts..." -The Bard
76. "Really? Damn that's a first. " In response to Reply # 75
"All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts..." -The Bard
74. "Compared to the rest of the season?" In response to Reply # 72
There were a few other episodes that could've been the finale and I would've been more satisfied. As a matter of fact, I rewatched Ben and Leslie's wedding episode from season 5, and that has so much (earned) heart and is ridiculously funny, that it made me bummed taht the finale couldn't find that perfect balance.
after a long hiatus, I caught up on S6-S7 and fell in love with this show all over again. really happy they got to close the series out on their own terms (I agree with Longo above that there was almost too much fan service, but if any show has earned all that icing on top, it's the perpetually in-limbo Parks).
in this age of internet trolling and comedies were everyone is an asshole, creating a dozen characters that are absurd, realistic, and equally lovable is a hell of a feat. I'm re-watching chunks of S2-S5* now and it's remarkable how they balance a line between government satire, romantic relationships, personal betterment, friendship and humor without the easy sarcasm or being obnoxiously enthusiastic.
a truly great show that is way high up on my all-time classics list.
*S2: during Leslie's date with creepy MRI-guy Will Arnett, he mentions she has a "great oven" and could easily knock out triplets on her first try.
92. "it's definitely closer to an episode of The Office." In response to Reply # 88
which hardly ever worked for Parks (S1 does not exist to me). it also seems more awkward now that Poehler and Arnett are divorced, like their scenes are art imitating life instead of a self-deprecating, Offerman and Mullaly dynamic.
back to the first point though, I think that's why Parks aged better (end of S6-through-S7 is fantastic), because they invested so much in the characters. I love The Office but after 100 episodes, nobody cared what happened to Ryan or Meredith or Kevin or hell, even Jim and Pam near the end.
>Cool line about the triplets though.
yeah, the writers go back to S2 a lot for the ending run. in the episode where Tom is trying to invest in the Snakehole Lounge, he mentions one of his mogul dreams is to own a place called Tom's Bistro, because "bistro sounds classy as shit." Leslie asking Ron if they'll ever hate each other, they going off to JJ's and using the "why do people eat anything but breakfast food?" line, both of which set up Leslie and Ron in S7. bringing back Lucy and Tom. the summer catalog photo of Tom used later as his memoir cover. Ben confessing he's auditing because he wants to run for office again.
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