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Annakie
Apr 20, 2005

"It's pretty bad, isn't it? I know it's pretty bad. Ever since I can remember..."
For the last time... Welcome back to Pawnee, Mouse Rat fans!

Parks and Recreation's final season consists of 13 episodes. They will air on NBC every TUESDAY for one hour at 8-9PM Eastern & Pacific (7 to 8 c/m). That's TWO back to back episodes starting January 13th, for the next several weeks, until the series finale airs February 24th.



Parks and Recreation is a show about the people working for the city (mostly the Parks department) of Pawnee, Indiana.


Leslie: A hundred and fifty years ago an interracial couple was married here and then slaughtered by their own families. It's one of the most beautiful stories in Pawnee's history.

THE TOWN



Pawnee is a character of its own in the show. It's known for being the home to Sweetums (If you can't beat 'em, Sweetums!), and for its City Hall murals.

Leslie, reading a list of Pawnee's town mottos: Pawnee, the Paris of America. Pawnee, the Akron of southwest Indiana. Pawnee, welcome, German soldiers. After the Nazis took France our mayor kind of panicked. Pawnee, the factory fire capital of America. Pawnee, welcome, Vietnamese soldiers. Pawnee, engage with Zorp. For a brief time in the '70s, our town was taken over by a cult. Pawnee, Zorp is dead. Long live Zorp. Pawnee, it's safe to be here now. Pawnee, birthplace of Julia Roberts. That was a lie, she sued and so we had to change it. Pawnee, home of the world famous Julia Roberts lawsuit. Pawnee, welcome, Taliban soldiers. And finally, our current slogan: Pawnee, first in friendship, fourth in obesity.

Leslie: We're overrun with raccoons and obese toddlers.

Like all great towns, Pawnee has a neighboring town that hates each other's guts. Pawnee has Eagleton. Luckily for all of us, Eagleton technically doesn't exist anymore. They went bankrupt and were bailed out by merging with Pawnee. The merger wasn't going so well until the Parks department threw a massively successful Unity Concert at the end of last season.

Leslie: The only thing Eagleton beats us in is life expectancy, beauty pageants and average income. Who cares?



THE CAST

Amy Pohler plays Leslie Knope, the second in command of the Parks and Recreation department.

Leslie: I am big enough to admit I am often inspired by myself

Leslie: There are very few things I have asked for in this world. To build a new park from scratch, to eventually become president and to one day solve a murder on a train.

For the first several seasons of the show, Leslie was second in command of the Parks department. She then ran for, and won, and later lost, a seat on Pawnee's city council. And then she was offered a job overseeing the midwest region's national Parks service.

Ron: Leslie has a lot of qualities I find horrifying. But the worst one by far is how thoughtful she can be.

At the very end of last season, Leslie took the job, and we immediately fast forwarded three years. We got to see three minutes of her life, which included her triplets with husband Ben, after Leslie moved the National Parks office to Pawnee. Also, she fired some guy named Ed.

Ben: I don't know if you knew this, but Leslie was born in Eagleton!
Leslie: Do not blame me for the sins of my mother!


Oh yeah, she also hated neighboring town Eagleton with every fiber of her being, but last season she helped orchestrate the Eagleton merger.

But we can't finish talking about Leslie until we mention the most important person in her life...



Ben Wyatt, played by Adam Scott.

Ben: When I was 18, I ran for mayor of my small town and won. Little bit of anti-establishment voter rebellion I guess. Here's the thing, though, about 18 year olds. They're idiots. So I pretty much ran the place into the ground and after two months got impeached. Worst part was my parents grounded me.

Ben came to Pawnee at the end of season 2 with Chris to intervene in Pawnee's budget crisis. They ended up shutting down the Parks department all together, until Leslie campaigned to bring the department back, and agreed to let her run the Harvest Festival, which generated income for the department. Chris and Ben were eventually hired onto the city's staff full time, so Ben became Leslie's boss.

Ben has a great political mind, is extremely practical, is terrified of policemen, and is a huge nerd.

April: Are you busy? And writing Star Trek fan fiction doesn't count.
Ben: Haha. And I finished that last week


After Ben and Leslie got back together in the middle of season 4, he had to resign in disgrace, he successfully ran Leslie's City Council campaign, which got the attention of Leslie's rival's campaign manager, Jen Barkley. For the first half of season 5, Ben was working for Jen in Washington DC. But midway through the season, he made another decision.

Leslie: Oh my God. What are you doing?
Ben: Thinking about my future. I am deeply ridiculously in love with you. And above everything else, I just want to be with you forever.
Leslie: Wait, wait. I need to remember this. Wait, just hold on. I need to remember this. I need to remember every little thing about how perfect my life is at this exact moment.
Ben: Leslie Knope, will you---
Leslie: YES!
Ben: Marry me?
Leslie: Oh yeah, yeah!





Ben and Leslie were married a few months later, and he also finally got closure on that whole teen mayor thing, too.

Ben took a job working for Sweetums' nonprofit branch while helping Tom out with his new business, and also started working for and subsequently quit working for an accounting firm. The second time he quit the firm, he gifted them a board game he'd created, "Cones of Dunshire". The accounting firm got the copyright on the game and gifted it to Ben, and then the game took off, helping secure Ben and Leslie's financial future.

Also last season, Ben became City Manager of Pawnee after the merger and departure of Chris Treager. For some reason, three years in the future, Ben was wearing a tux, and was about to have some sort of big night. He and Leslie appeared to be still happily married.



Tom Haverford is played by Aziz Asnari. Tom is Leslie's right-hand man, and he has 15 penises. Tom used to be part owner in the Snakehole, Pawnee's hottest club, until Chris made him sell his share, since it was considered a conflict of interest with his City job. He also invented Snake Juice, a surprisingly good alcoholic beverage.

Tom: Parents, are you tired of watching your middle school aged children grow out of the nice clothes you buy them? Then rent them! From Rent A Swag! You rent it. You wear it. You clean it. You return it. I get rich!

In season four, Tom quit his job with the Parks department in order to form media empire Entertainment 720 with his best friend, Jean-Ralphio. He returned to the Parks Department when E720 went bankrupt, but then came up with a brand new idea - Rent-A-Swag, which rents trendy clothes to teen boys. The business ended up doing really well, until a competing business run by Jean Ralphio's father, sent him under, and he was bought out by Dr. Saperstien.

Leslie: Tom Haverford is a selfish, sleazy, self-promoting, good-hearted, secretly kind and wonderful tiny, little person.

After drifting a bit last season, Tom opened a new restaurant, Tom's Bistro, which had a successful opening night.

Tom: Take the easy way out. I always do! It's easy!

Tom is also the owner of DJ Roomba. Or, he was, until DJ Roomba was killed by Jerry in a horrible moving accident. RIP, DJ Roomba. :(



Andy Dwyer is played by Chris Pratt. Andy originally was dating Ann when the show started, but now he's married to April.

Ron: Of all my coworkers [Andy] is one of a small number of whom I do not actively root against...uh, there I go again gettin' all sappy.

Andy is in a band, which is currently called Mouse Rat, but that's subject to change at any moment. April manages the band and Andy's musical career.

Ron: No home is complete without a proper toolbox. Here's April and Andy's: A hammer, a half eaten pretzel, a baseball card, some cartridge that says Sonic and Hedgehog, a scissor half, a flashlight filled with jellybeans.

Andy realized in season 4 what it was he always wanted to do, like his alter ego, Burt Macklin, Andy wanted to go into law enforcement. Sadly, although he did great on some aspects of the exam, his total lack of common sense kept him out of the force.

Andy: I can never tell if people are lying to me. I hope that doesn't come up in my police work.

Last season he spent some time working with a charity in London (which explained Pratt's Guardians of the Galaxy filming absence), but after drifting for awhile, started performing as a children's entertainer, Johnny Karate.

April and Andy also adopted Champion, a three-legged dog.


Donna: Andy will never be the new Jerry. Nothing embarrasses him. He is like a giant puppy with no shame.



Aubrey Plaza is April Ludgate. April is the youngest member of the Parks & Rec department, originally just interning for community college credit, she eventually took the job as Ron's assistant. Later, she took time out to intern with Ben in Washington DC, but then on her return to Pawnee was handed the Animal Control department, which was folded into the Parks department, after showing a great aptitude for working with animals.

Ron: I need to find someone to fill in for April. Now I know I'm not going to find someone who's both aggressively mean and apathetic. April really is the whole package

April also is one of the few people that Ron really likes, and they have a great boss/employee relationship based upon apathy and hatred of others.

April (to Ron): I don't want to do things. I want to not do to things like you taught me.

In season two, April and Andy fell for each other, but didn't start dating until a few episodes into season three after some bumps in the road. A few weeks later, they were married.

April, to Andy, at their wedding: I guess I kind of hate most things. But I never really seem to hate you. So I want to spend the rest of my life with you, is that cool?

At the end of the season, April was managing Andy's Johnny Karate gigs while managing Animal Control. She and Andy talked about getting divorced, just so they could get married again. They appeared to still be married three years into the future.

April: I only tell the truth when it makes me sound like I'm lying.

April Ludgate was born in Björk’s house in Iceland and grew up on Easter Island, where her parents were giant stone heads. She has the ability to fire beams of tacos out of her hands and she can turn her legs into tigers.

On Sundays, April enjoys reading Family Circus and traveling through time. Her favorite color is greenish-transparent and her favorite movie is the one you just watched.



Retta Sirleaf is Donna Meagle.

Ben: I guess we'll just set fire to the studio or something.
Leslie: Oh that's so sweet, I've never had a boyfriend willing to commit arson for me before.
Donna: It gets old.


Donna loves three things: South American men, double-shots and her car, a Mercedes-Benz M-Class SUV. She is also part owner of The Snakehole (which Chris doesn't know about, so she still has her share). She's technically adept, using her secret backups to save the Parks department from certain disaster (mostly Jerry). Donna once donated money to David Duke, because he promised to lower taxes. She also loves tweeting.

Donna: If you don't like what I'm tweeting then don't follow me.
Morris: What are you doing?
Donna: I'm live tweeting this dumbass conversation.


Donna and Tom are good friends, and once a year have a special Treat Yo Self day. Otherwise...

Donna: The Meagles are cold people.

She wouldn't admit it, but she really cares about Leslie and her other friends, to the point of making the ultimate sacrifice... her Benz in order to help Leslie win the election.

Donna: I have several men in rotation. One's waiting for me out in the car. Don't worry I rolled down the window.

Donna can't speak Italian and she hates Jean-Ralphio and her brother Levondrius. Near the end of last season, Donna got back together with ex-boyfriend Joe (Keegan-Michael Key).



Jim O'Heir plays Jerry Gergich. Or Larry Gergigh. It might be Terry now. Who knows/cares. We're still going to call him Jerry. Jerry is the department's resident punching bag.

Ben: Well, Jerry was never the type to rise above mediocrity. Or to it.

April: Can you Photoshop your life with better decisions, Jerry?

Jerry has many loves. Burritos, public urination, his three truly beautiful daughters, the same pair of stained khakis, and creating beautiful murinals. On the plus side, he is an excellent pianist and painter, but nobody cares about that.

Jerry's wife, Gayle, is played by none other than Christie Brinklie. Jerry also retired last season, but he still comes into the Parks department a few times a week to help out. Voluntarily.

Leslie: As much as we want this to happen, we can't just let Jerry disappear!

He also had some medical problems recently...

Tom: I just want to hear the doctor say that Jerry had a fart attack! Is that so much to ask?

Don't feel too bad for Jerry though. Even Jerry has a Jerry.

Kyle: I love the Umami flavor.
Jerry: Stop being so pretentious Kyle.


Also, there's this...

Dr. Harris: That man has the largest penis I have ever seen. I actually don't even know if he has mumps, forgot to look. I was distracted... by the largest penis I have ever seen.

In summary, this quote best sums up Jerry-

Ron: Jerry's work is often adequate.

At the end of last season, it looked like Jerry was working for Leslie in the National Parks Service.


New to the cast last year was Billy Eichner playing Eagletonian Craig Middlebrooks.

Craig was the only member of the Pawnee Parks and Rec department to stay on after the city merger, and according to Donna, is possibly the only human being on the planet to care more about his job than Leslie.

Craig has a nephew that he loves very much, and also a nose for wines. He took on the job as Tom's Bistro's sommelier along with his Parks job at the end of last season. He also may have become good friends with Jean-Ralphio.





And now we come to the man himself, RON loving SWANSON played by Nick Offerman.

Ron: In my opinion, not enough people have looked their dinner in the eyes and considered the circle of life. This is your dinner. His name is Tom.

Ron is the head of the Parks Department. He's a staunch libertarian, accomplished woodworker, fisherman, hunter, and youth league basketball coach. He is a lover of breakfast foods, Ayn Rand, meat, and strong, dark haired women like Steffi Graff. He has all the toes that he has, let's leave it at that.

Ron: You may have thought you heard me say I wanted a lot of bacon and eggs, but what I said was: Give me all the bacon and eggs you have.

Ann: How many drinks of alcohol do you consume a week?
Ron: One.
Ann: That's it? One drink?
Ron: One shelf.
Ann: Do you exercise?
Ron: Yes. Lovemaking and woodworking.
Ann: Do you have any history of mental illness in your family?
Ron: I have an uncle who does yoga.


There are many things Ron Swanson hates. The Public. Birthdays. Personally identifiable information. Laws restricting freedom in any way. Most anything that isn't manly. And he definitely hates the Government.

Diane: Hey, am I interrupting something important?
Ron: Impossible. I work for the government.


What Ron Swanson really hates, though, is his ex-wife, Tammy.

Tammy Swanson Two pops up occasionally. She is played by Nick Offerman's wife, Megan Mullaly.

Ron: My ex-wife Tammy likes to check in every so often and make sure I'm doing OK. And if I am, she tries to gently caress everything up.

Leslie: I know Tammy seems scary, but really she's just a manipulative, psychotic, library book pedaling, sex crazed she-demon.


Also he hates... his first ex-wife, Tammy.


April: She's the cold distant mother I never had. I love her.

Though he does love his mother, Tammy.


Also, he loves his new wife, Diane, played by Lucy Lawless, who he met, courted and, oops, accidentally got pregnant in season 5. Diane has two young daughters alraedy, then last season, Ron and Diane had a son, John.

Ron has a now not-so-secret alter-ego, popular saxophonist and middle-aged-women hearthrob, Duke Silver. Until the end of last season, only April, Tom and now Diane know his true identity, then Duke Silver played the Unity Concert.

Ron has brought the department in under budget every year for the last six years. He suffers from a disorder known as "Sleep Fighting". He can carve a small harp out of a single piece of wood in one night, while drunk. There are no words to sum up the awesomeness of the Legend, Ron Swanson. Just see the graph below.

Ron: I have been developing the Swanson Pyramid of Greatness for years. It's a perfectly calibrated recipe for maximum personal achievement. Categories include: Capitalism, God's way of determining who is smart, and who is poor. Crying, acceptable at funerals and the Grand Canyon. Rage. Poise. Property rights. Fish, for sport only, not for meat. Fish meat is practically a vegetable.


Download the Pyramid here

There are a few other things Ron loves. He is loathe to admit it, but he really does like the other people in the Parks department. Especially Leslie.

Ron: Before we go in there, I want to say something. You are a wonderful person. Our friendship means a lot to me. And you look very beautiful.




No longer on the show but we will always remember...

Ann Perkins is played by Rashida Jones. Ann is Leslie's best friend, and a nurse who also worked part-time at City Hall's health department.

April: Hey, Ann, are you still a nurse or did they fire you because you slept with all the doctors?.

Ann dated Andy in the first season, then Mark Brendanawicz in the second season, and Chris for a few months in the third season, until he dumped her, and then Tom at the end of the fourth season. Last season, she and Chris got back together after deciding to have a baby together. They then decided to move Michigan to be closer to Ann's family and raise their baby.

Ann: Is that a drawing of my reproductive system saying "let's do this"?

Ann and Leslie's best-friendship is one of the hearts of the show, though. Leslie really loves Ann, and they depend on each other for help and support.

Leslie: Ann, you are such a good friend. You are a beautiful, talented, brilliant, powerful musk ox. Thank you, ox, for keeping this ship afloat.

Leslie: Your ambiguous ethnic blend perfectly represents the dream of
the American melting pot.




Rob Lowe is Chris Traeger.

Leslie: Chris is the most positive state budget auditing consultant I've ever met. I mean, I made eye contact with him and it was like staring into the sun.

Chris is literally the most positive person in existence.

Chris and Ben came to Pawnee as auditing consultants, stayed and worked for the city. Chris spent several seasons as City Manager. After going through a mid-life crisis for a season or two, Chris came out happy and ready for fatherhood with Ann.

Chris: I don't know if you know this, but things with fat in them taste way better than things that don't!

Chris and Ann left midway through last seasons. Will they show up again in the show's final season? Good question. The answer is out there if you want to know.


Other notable citizens of Pawnee include:

News anchor Perd Hapley
Ron: What the gently caress are you doing, Perd Hapley?


Tom's best friend Jean-Ralphio and his sister, Mona Lisa, (Jenny Slate) who Tom dated in season 5, and his father, an obstetrician, played by Henry Winkler.
Jean Ralphio: She's the worst person in the world. Huge skank. Terrible. Thanks for hiring her.
Tom: Gotta keep it in the family.
Ben: But does it have to be THIS family?




Trevor Nelson (Marc Evan Jackson) is a lawyer in Pawnee, who has represented Dr. Saperstien as well as assisted Ben and Ron in making wills. He has no sense of humor.

Local Reporter/Talk show host Joan Callamezzo
Ben: Is she going to powder her vagina?

Councilman Jamm, who is a slimy bastard and we all hate very much.
Leslie: It is with a heavy heart that I say: we have been Jammed.

And hometown hero / mascot, Lil' Sebastian (deceased).
RIP Lil' Sebastian. You're 5000 Candles in the Wind.


Oh, and in seasons 1 and 2 there was also city planner Mark Brendanaquits I mean, Mark Brendanawicz, but after he and Ann broke up and he realized he hated his job, he left to go work in the private sector. He's no longer on the show.

FAQ
:siren: The first season - Is it bad? I heard it's bad. Or I saw the pilot and hated it, Should I watch this show?
Some people think it is pretty bad, but with glimmers of hope that it'll get better, and every episode improves on the previous episode, until the sixth and final episode is actually pretty good. Do you HAVE to watch the first season? No. Should you? At some point, probably. It's only 6 episodes long and there are some great moments. Some people even enjoy it a lot!
There's absolutely no question about watching the rest of the show. It's some of the greatest TV, ever, and if you do not watch them you are Jerry.

Basically, most people suggest starting with season 2. Later, when you love the show, go back and watch season 1. If you watch season 1 first, just think of it as a six-episode pilot and the real show starts in season 2.

I have never seen this show, how can I watch it!?
All six seasons are streaming on Netflix. It's also on Amazon Instant. Of course there are also DVDs. GO WATCH. NOW.


Suggest an episode to start with right now!
If you are only going to give the show one episode, go with The Fight. This was the 4th to last episode of season 3, and on most people's top 5. It's got almost everything that's awesome about Parks & Rec in it. Leslie & Ann's friendship, Tom's entrepreneurial spirit, The Snakehole, every cast member has something to do and they are ALL great in it, including Jean-Ralphio, April and Andy being :3: as gently caress, and Ron being awesome. If this doesn't leave your face hurting from laughing and smiling, you have no soul.


Animated .gifs
Strenuous Manflurry's P&R .gif packs have lots of gifs from seasons 2 through 4, and can be downloaded here: Seasons 2 and 3 and Season 4

Manflurry and I have a gallery with all his gifs here: http://annakie.com/cpg/.
Feel free to link them in the thread or anywhere on SA as much as you want, that's what they're there for.

Simply click on the gif you want, right click and copy image location, and use that url in the thread.

Thanks Strenuous Manflurry for that and for providing all the .gifs in the OP! You know you're my favorite.

**If there are other gif or even .jpg / icon makers who would also like to upload to this gallery, please let me know and I can host them!

hitze also makes Parks & Rec gifs


Other Awesome Things to Check Out:
Required reading after you finish watching the third season - Michael Schur walks us through Parks And Recreation’s third season. And here's the link for the same article for the FOURTH season Really. Seriously. Read these if you love the show.

Parks & Rec, the book ("Pawnee: The Greatest Town in America"), as featured in the episode "Born and Raised" (ep 4.03). It's 240 full color pages of hilarious awesomeness, if you have $10.86 you should either buy this or a bottle of Snake Juice. Seriously, it is a must-read for any fan of the show and I don't think you'll regret buying it.

The long-form version of the theme song because it's one of the best TV themes ever. Shorter version, from the 3rd season.

Official NBC/Pawnee sites:
The site at NBC It does have a lot of good stuff to check out.
Official Website for the Duke Silver Trio
Scarecrow Boat / Mouse Rat website With free music downloads! The Pit, 5000 Candles in the Wind, Ann Song, November, Sex Hair & more! :D
Gallery of the Pawnee City Hall Murals
The Snakehole's Website
Pawnee's "Official" website
Entertainment 720, Jean Ralphio and Tom's production company
A slideshow of the Pawnee murals
Ron Swanson's Grilling Page Learn how to grill like Ron and buy Ron Swanson BBQ sauce / grilling aprons!

Sign up for the Parks and Recreation Newsletter. Published monthly, contains articles written by Leslie and the rest of the Parks department (+ Andy, Chris and Ben sometimes)


Funny Videos:
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon's 6-Bee, A Glee parody featuring the cast of P&R! Includes singing and dancing and awesomeness.
Rob Lowe goes nuts over Parks and Rec's long hiatus. (NSFW language but really, watch this)
Aziz creates a new opening sequence
The Entertainment 720 Promotional Video
Entertainment 720's Tribute to Lil' Sebastian
A season 3 promo, in IMAX 3D!!


Twitter Accounts:
Official show Twitter
Aziz Anari's (Tom) Twitter (verified)
Aubrey Plaza's (April) Twitter
Chris Pratt's (Andy) Twitter
Jim O'Heir's (Jerry) Twitter
Ben Schwartz's (Jean Ralphio) Twitter
Retta's (Donna) Twitter
Adam Scott's (Ben) Twitter
April tweets Ron's work quotes Official in-character twitter
Tom Haverford's Twitter Official, in-character twitter.

Fan-Made awesomeness:

A Parks & Rec Wiki exists!
JABBA THE HUTT! Warning: you will never hear the theme song the same way again. But you have to watch this.
Awesome song that samples P&R's theme
Adam Warrock's 3 song EP about Parks and Recreation This is pretty good, go listen to it!
Infinite Drunk Ron Swanson!


Previous Threads...
Season 1
Season 2
For absolutely no reason at all, Aatrek closed my season 2 thread a month before season 3 and started his own for a few weeks. I objected and got the OP back for...
Season 3
Season 4
Season 5
Season 6

And this is season 7!

Annakie fucked around with this message at 15:12 on Jan 12, 2015

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Pakled
Aug 6, 2011

WE ARE SMART
The new season is so close! :neckbeard:

But the end of the series is also so close. :ohdear:

Regy Rusty
Apr 26, 2010

I'm excited for this to be back (it's been so long!). I'm also content and ready for it to end, just because 7 seasons is a good run and it feels like it's time. Here's hoping for a fantastic final season.

Also Annakie, you might want to update the Netflix section of your OP - all 6 seasons are up on there by now!

E: Oh and of course this has to be on Tuesday gently caress this is ridiculous, networks you don't have to cram everything I want to watch into a single day.

Regy Rusty fucked around with this message at 05:42 on Jan 12, 2015

Klungar
Feb 12, 2008

Klungo make bessst ever video game, 'Hero Klungo Sssavesss Teh World.'

This is a kids-sized OP, in if you liquified it it would be the size of a small child.

The Fuzzy Hulk
Nov 22, 2007

ASK ME ABOUT CROSSING THE STREAMS


I was rewatching this and way back in season 2, Leslie gets an MRi and the guy says she has a huge uterus, like big enough for triplets.

Annakie
Apr 20, 2005

"It's pretty bad, isn't it? I know it's pretty bad. Ever since I can remember..."

Regy Rusty posted:

I'm excited for this to be back (it's been so long!). I'm also content and ready for it to end, just because 7 seasons is a good run and it feels like it's time. Here's hoping for a fantastic final season.

Also Annakie, you might want to update the Netflix section of your OP - all 6 seasons are up on there by now!

Yeah part of me wants to be sad because it's so close to being over. This is probably my favorite show ever, of all time, which beats out some pretty heavy contenders like MST3k and Futurama. But seven seasons is basically a miracle, it squeaked by every season getting renewed by the skin of its teeth and seven seasons with well over 100 episodes is a very good run for a show. Even I will admit a few episodes in the middleish of last season were I'd consider just... good with a few great moments instead of usual "great to amazing". It's time. I'm glad they're really getting to end it on their terms, going in knowing this is the final season.

And fixed, thanks. This OP has slowly gotten ridiculous as it's evolved over the last many years, I knew I'd mess something up no matter how much I combed it. :D

Merauder
Apr 17, 2003

The North Remembers.
I'm so goddamn excited for this show to come back. I'm just crushed they brought it back on Tuesdays, when I have other obligations in the evenings and will have to delay watching it until Wednesdays.
On the other hand, it's going to be like having Christmas 7 weeks in a row on Wednesday mornings. :toot:

Also, the real life Cones of Dunshire stuff has to be mentioned (kind of biased since I was involved, I realize, but regardless!); Mayfair Games (makes of Catan, also featured in the show) put on a charity event at GenCon 2014 where a bunch of us nerds played a version of Ben's game for real. In tow was this introduction from Ben and Tom; there's a fun group picture of all of us participants at the end as well. I'm the goofball who bought the Letters to Cleo shirt for the event. :v: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7X41K819Jw

ALSO ALSO, in the same vein as the above, fans might want to follow this page on FB: https://www.facebook.com/ConeHiillGames

It's being run my Mayfair, and they're saying they have a big announcement coming soon. WHAT COULD IT BE?! I know, but I'm not telling :ninja:

e: Decided it was time to celebrate with a new avatar while I was at it!

Merauder fucked around with this message at 06:26 on Jan 12, 2015

Chairman Capone
Dec 17, 2008

Let's hope the last season can go out on a high note. At the least, better than the last two seasons. Trailers look promising so far, at least.

Gaussian
Sep 20, 2001

I'll give you a box of chocolates if you kill me.




Nap Ghost
I just hope that the inevitable complete series box set is in a Leslie Knope-esque color coded binder. I can't think of any better way to market it.

Senor Tron
May 26, 2006


Got into the show early this year, starting in the second season.

I may have not lived there long, but I'm gonna miss Pawnee.

Andrew_1985
Sep 18, 2007
Hay hay hay!
Hoorah, Parks is back. I'm hoping the future is amazing.

Also, Brisbane DJs, Odd Mob, have sampled Tom to create the very fun Is It a Banger?

Mister Mind
Mar 20, 2009

I'm not a real doctor,
But I am a real worm;
I am an actual worm

Annakie posted:

Oh, and in seasons 1 and 2 there was also city planner Mark Brendanaquits I mean, Mark Brendanawicz, but after he and Ann broke up and he realized he hated his job, he left to go work in the private sector. He's no longer on the show.
Ugh - I hate this goddamn goon groupthink. Brendanawicz's only crime was that he was a psychologically normal straight man as the show started to slide into a more...heightened sort of reality.

Anyway, here's to the best character on the best show still broadcast over the airwaves:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELEGOi9p8EQ

"It's fun to pretend to be zoning board members."

bubblelubble
Feb 26, 2013

scribbled out the truth,
paying in naivety.
Excellent OP! :neckbeard:

Maaaan, I for one am looking forward to seeing Jon Hamm be an even worse gently caress-up than Jerry/Gerry/Larry/Terry.

Also Ben being cute in general :swoon:

Argue
Sep 29, 2005

I represent the Philippines

Merauder posted:

I'm so goddamn excited for this show to come back. I'm just crushed they brought it back on Tuesdays, when I have other obligations in the evenings and will have to delay watching it until Wednesdays.
On the other hand, it's going to be like having Christmas 7 weeks in a row on Wednesday mornings. :toot:

Also, the real life Cones of Dunshire stuff has to be mentioned (kind of biased since I was involved, I realize, but regardless!); Mayfair Games (makes of Catan, also featured in the show) put on a charity event at GenCon 2014 where a bunch of us nerds played a version of Ben's game for real. In tow was this introduction from Ben and Tom; there's a fun group picture of all of us participants at the end as well. I'm the goofball who bought the Letters to Cleo shirt for the event. :v: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7X41K819Jw

ALSO ALSO, in the same vein as the above, fans might want to follow this page on FB: https://www.facebook.com/ConeHiillGames

It's being run my Mayfair, and they're saying they have a big announcement coming soon. WHAT COULD IT BE?! I know, but I'm not telling :ninja:

e: Decided it was time to celebrate with a new avatar while I was at it!

So how was the game? Can you give us a brief ruleset write-up? Was it indeed all about the cones, and would you buy a real version?

Merauder
Apr 17, 2003

The North Remembers.

Argue posted:

So how was the game? Can you give us a brief ruleset write-up? Was it indeed all about the cones, and would you buy a real version?

I did a big write up of it in the last thread that should be easy enough to find.

Would I buy an actual version? Yes, though a good part of that sale is just fandom/novelty. I play a lot of table top games (and work in the industry), and unless changes were to be made from the version we played at GenCon, it was pretty much just madness. Entertaining madness mind you, but all the same pretty nutty and probably not something I'd actually subject non-P&R fans to.

Escobarbarian
Jun 18, 2004


Grimey Drawer

Annakie posted:

Suggest an episode to start with right now!
If you are only going to give the show one episode, go with The Fight. This was the 4th to last episode of season 3, and on most people's top 5.

Haha wait, for reals? Quick poll: how many of you have this on your top 5 Parks episodes?

screaden
Apr 8, 2009

Bown posted:

Haha wait, for reals? Quick poll: how many of you have this on your top 5 Parks episodes?

Me, it's my number 1 even.

Though if "The Camel" had Chris and Ben in it it would probably be number 1

Hakkesshu
Nov 4, 2009


The funniest P&R episodes are whichever ones that have Dan Castellaneta in it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZjV_mrHyWs

screaden
Apr 8, 2009
It's requiem for a Tuesday by the way

Annakie
Apr 20, 2005

"It's pretty bad, isn't it? I know it's pretty bad. Ever since I can remember..."

Mister Mind posted:

Ugh - I hate this goddamn goon groupthink. Brendanawicz's only crime was that he was a psychologically normal straight man as the show started to slide into a more...heightened sort of reality.

Everything in my quote was 100% factual, the "Brendanaquits" was a direct joke from the show.


Bown posted:

Haha wait, for reals? Quick poll: how many of you have this on your top 5 Parks episodes?

This was actually talked about in the thread previously and this was the one the thread suggested as a whole.

bubblelubble posted:

Excellent OP! :neckbeard:

Thank you :)


screaden posted:

It's requiem for a Tuesday by the way

Yes, but the show is on Tuesday, thus the slight tweak.

Assless Chaps
May 7, 2007

*ding*
Clapping Larry
Awesome OP, Annakie! I'm at once incredibly excited and terribly sad for this season. But it seems like a great place to stop the show (although the end of last season ... or the episode where Ann and Chris left both seemed like good places, too), and now it won't go down in flames like The Office over its last few seasons.

Mister Mind posted:

Ugh - I hate this goddamn goon groupthink. Brendanawicz's only crime was that he was a psychologically normal straight man as the show started to slide into a more...heightened sort of reality.

Meh. Dude was boring. I completely and utterly forget he existed until somebody brings him up here.

bobkatt013
Oct 8, 2006

You’re telling me Peter Parker is ...... Spider-man!?

Assless Chaps posted:

Awesome OP, Annakie! I'm at once incredibly excited and terribly sad for this season. But it seems like a great place to stop the show (although the end of last season ... or the episode where Ann and Chris left both seemed like good places, too), and now it won't go down in flames like The Office over its last few seasons.


Meh. Dude was boring. I completely and utterly forget he existed until somebody brings him up here.

The show even forgot about him when they had the boxes of Ann's exes.
A good episode to start a newbie with is Ron and Tammy part 1.

Havoc904
Jul 29, 2006

A school festival is a festival that takes place at our school!
Is the last season going to take place after the timeskip or fill it in?

I went through season six for the first time over the weekend, I had been putting it off because I thought there would be too many children storylines due to how season 5 ended and also hearing that Leslie and Ann both get pregnant. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they didn't shoehorn alot of it in and the show remained just as consistent as before. While the season 6 finale felt like it was cramming alot of sentimentality in there, it also felt like it was written as a possible series finale before they got the seventh season approval.

Count me in as a fan of Brendanquits as well. I'm hoping they have him show up sometime in the new season.

Also, it was great to have more Barney from the accounting firm in the sixth season. Both Barney and Bizarro Ron had some of my favorite scenes from this past season.

Macaluso
Sep 23, 2005

I HATE THAT HEDGEHOG, BROTHER!

bobkatt013 posted:

A good episode to start a newbie with is Ron and Tammy part 1.

I couldn't disagree more about this. You really need to get to know Ron's character before you see an episode completely breaking it apart. I mean, obviously he starts off the episode being normal Ron, but I feel you need his character built up over multiple episodes (or any of the characters really).

It's hard to suggest which episode is best for a newbie to experience first though. It's easy to say none of the first season, but less cause they're not very good episodes in general, and more just because the characters haven't been fully defined yet. It's not til season 2 that we really get Leslie developing out of Girl Michael Scott, Andy goes from rear end in a top hat boyfriend to loveable idiot, and the other characters are pretty rusty too.

bobkatt013
Oct 8, 2006

You’re telling me Peter Parker is ...... Spider-man!?

Macaluso posted:

I couldn't disagree more about this. You really need to get to know Ron's character before you see an episode completely breaking it apart. I mean, obviously he starts off the episode being normal Ron, but I feel you need his character built up over multiple episodes (or any of the characters really).

It's hard to suggest which episode is best for a newbie to experience first though. It's easy to say none of the first season, but less cause they're not very good episodes in general, and more just because the characters haven't been fully defined yet. It's not til season 2 that we really get Leslie developing out of Girl Michael Scott, Andy goes from rear end in a top hat boyfriend to loveable idiot, and the other characters are pretty rusty too.

Yeah but the episode you get the basics of a lot of characters. It shows the Ron Leslie relationship. It has Andy getting the shoe shine job and stop being an rear end in a top hat. It was the eighth episode in the second season so the characters were not that build up anyways.

Also yes this season is post timeskip.

Last Chance
Dec 31, 2004

Glad they're finally shooting this horse (pony?) in the head. The show has really ran its course.

Havoc904
Jul 29, 2006

A school festival is a festival that takes place at our school!

Macaluso posted:

I couldn't disagree more about this. You really need to get to know Ron's character before you see an episode completely breaking it apart. I mean, obviously he starts off the episode being normal Ron, but I feel you need his character built up over multiple episodes (or any of the characters really).

It's hard to suggest which episode is best for a newbie to experience first though. It's easy to say none of the first season, but less cause they're not very good episodes in general, and more just because the characters haven't been fully defined yet. It's not til season 2 that we really get Leslie developing out of Girl Michael Scott, Andy goes from rear end in a top hat boyfriend to loveable idiot, and the other characters are pretty rusty too.

I think the episode right after that one would be my suggestion for a trial episode, "The Camel". Everyone's different idea for the Murinal gives a good, general outline of their character's personality and you don't need to have seen much of the previous episodes to go from there. The episode has everything from the Jerry hate to Sewer Joe, plus Andy is becoming a likable character by that point. Like you said, it is hard to go any further back because the show is still finding its footing.

thexerox123
Aug 17, 2007

bobkatt013 posted:

Also yes this season is post timeskip.

Not necessarily 100%... talking about Jon Hamm's character...

quote:

“If I have my way, every episode where you see events that take place before that moment will include a shot of him doing something insanely incompetent,” showrunner Mike Schur told my colleague Dan Snierson of a Hamm return after the finale.

Zedd
Jul 6, 2009

I mean, who would have noticed another madman around here?



I am going to miss this show. :smith: It is pretty much my favorite comedy ever by now. :smith:

Season 6 was a lot better on a rewatch than week-to-week, and while there is indeed a dip in quality I still think it's excellent television. Seven seasons is enough though and if it's anything like 30Rock's last we are in for a treat.

Zaggitz
Jun 18, 2009

My urges are becoming...

UNCONTROLLABLE

Bye bye, lil' Sebastian. :smith:

The Dark Souls of Posters
Nov 4, 2011

Just Post, Kupo
The Fight is 100% my favorite episode, but I totally agree with others saying you need some familiarity with the characters to truly appreciate the insanity of Snake Juice.

I think we need to put together a 3-5 episode primer put together from Season 2 culminating in The Fight.

Escobarbarian
Jun 18, 2004


Grimey Drawer
That's pretty nuts to me. The Snake Juice intoxication stuff is hilarious but I do not remember the episode being that memorable outside from those cutaways at all. It's definitely one of my least favourites from s3. Why wouldn't you just recommend Flu Season

WoG
Jul 13, 2004

Awesome Animals posted:

I think we need to put together a 3-5 episode primer put together from Season 2 culminating in The Fight.
Do we, though? It's a 21 minute show, readily available on netflix, and there are no terrible episodes. If someone can't be bothered push to 3 buttons, sit back, and let it run through a few, then gently caress 'em. Show's over, anyway.

I'm psyched for Tuesday beyond reason, here. Now to hope for the right meteorological conditions; NBC's the only network where my OTA reception is in question.

Merauder
Apr 17, 2003

The North Remembers.
Soulmates, and The End of the World are probably my top 2 favorite episodes. Soulmates has all the ridiculousness of Tom, eccentricity of Leslie, intensity of Chris, wackiness of Andy, stubbornness of Ron, awkwardness of Ben... not much April, Jerry, or Donna (though they all do make appearances during the amazing cook-off), but overall it's got just about everything you could want. Plus a nice beginning of Leslie & Ben's romantic arc. :3:

End of the World also has so much fantastic character stuff in it, more :3: than I can handle. And the both the Zorp story and the E720 party are hilarious. AND Andy's bucket list. MAN. Such a great episode.

Flu Season and The Fight are right up there, though. So hard to choose favorites!

Chairman Capone
Dec 17, 2008

Looking through season 2 list now, Hunting Trip and Telethon both stand out as potentially good starting-off episodes (though I haven't rewatched either in a while so maybe there's interactions in there that you'd need to be caught up on).

I'm not sure if I'd say End of the World is a good "intro" episode but it's definitely one of my favorites. The whole contemplative tone of the episode was really enjoyable for me and it still stands out as a unique-feeling episode.

Zaggitz
Jun 18, 2009

My urges are becoming...

UNCONTROLLABLE

I always used Greg Pikitis as my first ep for newcomers. It's the first Burt Macklin episode!

Spoeank
Jul 16, 2003

That's a nice set of 11 dynasty points there, it would be a shame if 3 rings were to happen with it

Chairman Capone posted:

Looking through season 2 list now, Hunting Trip and Telethon both stand out as potentially good starting-off episodes (though I haven't rewatched either in a while so maybe there's interactions in there that you'd need to be caught up on).

I'm not sure if I'd say End of the World is a good "intro" episode but it's definitely one of my favorites. The whole contemplative tone of the episode was really enjoyable for me and it still stands out as a unique-feeling episode.

The Telethon is pretty great because it gives a good idea about a wide swath of characters. That list of characters includes a news anchor, and that new anchor's name, is Perd Hapley.

Pope Guilty
Nov 6, 2006

The human animal is a beautiful and terrible creature, capable of limitless compassion and unfathomable cruelty.

Spoeank posted:

The Telethon is pretty great because it gives a good idea about a wide swath of characters. That list of characters includes a news anchor, and that new anchor's name, is Perd Hapley.

This post contains a reference, and the story of that reference is that it was well-executed.

Hakkesshu
Nov 4, 2009


I just love the atmosphere and style of this show so much, so even though this last season wasn't stellar, it was always comforting and enjoyable to watch. 7 seasons is a good run and I am sad to see it go.

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Zedd
Jul 6, 2009

I mean, who would have noticed another madman around here?



One of my favorite things is still Nefertiti's Fjord. I can't really explain why either. It always gets me.

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