Earlier in the week, I took a big shot at NBC due to their decision to make Parks and Rec a midseason replacement next year in favor of the horrendous looking Outsourced (anyone else cringe during that commercial for it last night?), but I think I’ll do it again. Good job NBC, you’re going to bench you best comedy, which is already in production of its second season. That’s right, NBC renewed a show early to put it into production early, and now they’re going to let the episodes they’re filming RIGHT NOW sit for SEVEN MONTHS. As I said during the Conan Debacle, it’s no surprise you’re in last place.
Now that that’s out of my system, let’s talk “Freedy Spaghetti.” When we last left Pawnee, President Bartlett had decided to call the Republican Speaker’s bluff and the government was shut down completely. As a result, state auditors Ben and Chris are visited each day by Leslie, despite her status as non-essential personnel. Making matters worse for our Deputy Director of Parks and Recreation, she isn’t seeing her friends, the people of Pawnee are furious that they can’t use the parks and have to have their kids in their homes, and Mark has taken an offered buyout and is leaving city hall to pursue work in the private sector. Leslie gets pushed over the edge though when the budget crisis causes the cancellation of a concert by Freddy Spaghetti, a children’s singer that does songs with pasta in them (“Penne and the Jets” was my favorite).
Not to be deterred, Leslie rounds up the Parks Department and Anne, and manages to get the concert set up on the Lot Formerly Known as The Pit. Little does she know however that in city hall, Ron, who was previously thinking of ways to slash the city budget for his personal delight, is vigorously defending Leslie’s job which Ben wants to do away with. It’s here that he lets slip the fact that Leslie is setting up the concert on her own. This rattles Ben, but Ron gets there first to warn Leslie, who stands up for their work, saying it was all done with donations.
The only problem? When the concert was canceled, Freddy Spaghetti booked another gig. At a library. Not to worry, there’s Andy’s band, Mouse Rat! They can just substitute “sex” or “pickle” in the song “Sex Hair,” and they’re set! The problems are solved for about 30 seconds, when Any promptly crashes his new motorcycle and breaks his hand. It appears that Leslie is going to have to go on for the crowd, when out of nowhere, Freddy Spaghetti shows up and tells her Ben offered to pay for him, and since it was more than those bastards at the library, he was happy to do it. For the second episode in a row, Ben and Leslie put their differences aside and realize that the other is just trying to prove they can do their job as best as possible.
On the romantic front, April is still pissed at Andy from her birthday, and when he finally tells her that he likes her in a “romantical” kind of way, she says she likes him too, but they can’t go out, not if he still has any feelings for Ann. Anneherself is busy rejecting the advances of Chris, telling herself its because she always does something crazy after a break up, which sorta makes sense I guess? Anyway, when Andy is in the hospital, she gets sentimental and kisses him, something she immediately regrets. Upon hearing the news of the accident, April rushes to the hospital, tells Andy she was wrong, that they can go out, and they share an awkward but really sweet kiss. Unfortunately, poor Andy does the right thing by telling her about Ann’s kiss, and April runs out on him. Tom meanwhile is very happy with his new girlfriend Lucy, but his world kind of falls apart at the end when he discovers that Ron has slept with his ex-wife. That’s cold Swanson.
The episode ended on a bit of a sweet note, as Mark and Leslie share a moment at The Lot, but in a much more bittersweet way than the one they shared at the Pit last season. Mark gives his vote of confidence in Leslie and leaves her with a set of plans for a park to go on The Lot. It was a sweet ending for a manic episode and season, and a nice goodbye for the departing Paul Schneider.
Overall, “Freddy Spaghetti” felt a little rushed (perhaps the online “producers cut” will fix that, much as the one for last week did), but it was a good episode of a show that a year ago was largely unimpressive. The change that Parks and Rec went through this season has been noted virtually everywhere, but it’s worth noting again how great it became. It’s finally didn’t have a “whoa!” moment like Community, but there’s a lot set up for next season that will really great to see. Parks and Rec for me has become what The Office was in it’s second and third season: and ensemble comedy that has as much heart and emotion as it does laugh out loud humor. It’s going to be a very long wait before we go back to Pawnee, but in the meantime, share Parks and Rec with your friends to help out the best comedy on TV.
Other Notes:
- Ron’s gunshot ringtone was amazing. I loved how amused he was at everyone’s terror.
- A chicken leg wrapped in bacon is called a Swanson.
- “What am I going to do with my kids, keep them in my house? Where I live?”
- “Suck it, Paris, France!”
- One last Jerry joke before the season ends, and it was a good one.
- Favorite moments of the season? I couldn’t think of just one…I’ll share some in the comments section, and you should too!
Michael’s Score: 81
TUiW Grade: A-
Michael
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