It’s all about hopes and dreams in the season premiere of NBC‘s Parks and Recreation. Even though it got snubbed at the Emmys this week, it’s still the funniest show on TV. Tonight’s premiere was no exception – the show’s outrageous wit was out in full force.
We pick up where we left off at the end of season three, with Leslie’s (Amy Poehler) dream of running for public office finally coming true, and Ron (Nick Offerman) running away in fear from the dreaded Tammy 1, his first wife. Don’t worry, he has 228 days of sick leave built up.
Leslie’s only concern is Ben (Adam Scott) whom she’s been secretly dating. She realizes their break-up is inevitable due to the public scandal it would cause. It’s either the boyfriend or the city council seat, and Leslie just doesn’t want to break the bad news.
So (in typical Leslie fashion) she decides to make Ann (Rashida Jones) do it for her. But, before Ann can respond, every woman at city hall receives a picture of somebody’s penis. Because isn’t that what the government is really about?
Meanwhile, Tom (Aziz Ansari) has offered Andy (Chris Pratt) a position at his new company, Entertainment 720, which seems to specialize in putting logos on stuff (like umbrellas, and Rubik’s cubes with Tom’s face on them). Let it be known that Tom has black business cards with black writing on them… the coolest possible color scheme.
Elsewhere, Andy asks April (Aubrey Plaza) for career advice, and the two prove how indecisive and clueless they really are. They’re still adorable, though.
Meanwhile, Chris (Rob Lowe) and Ben vow they will get to the bottom of the penis scandal. Ann notices the testicles are enlarged, which could be a sign of serious illness. She reports this to Chris, who is very proud of her for knowing her testes so well.
Leslie does such a good job handling the sexting scandal that her advisers give her the go-ahead to announce her candidacy on Friday – which means the break-up needs to happen immediately. Too bad Ben bought her a giant eclair shaped like an L, which immediately brings Leslie to tears and causes the two to make out and spend the night together. And then Leslie made breakfast and they make out some more. Oops.
Chris and Ben discover the penis belongs to none other than Joe (Kirk Fox) from the sewage department. He believes that if you’ve got a nice drain pipe, then there’s no reason to hide it. Gross. Chris informs him that Ann has discovered he may have a medical condition, which causes men from all over Pawnee to text pictures of their penises to her. Grosser!
Leslie and Ben go out for a romantic dinner, and right when Leslie is about to break up with him, he pulls out a box. And Leslie, being Leslie, runs away to “the whiz palace” which turns out to be Ron’s house.
Ron is sporting a full-on mountain man beard, which is really a more natural look for him. Leslie comments about how they’re both running away from their problems, when Ron gives her the three rules of living with him. One, don’t talk about Tammy 1, two, don’t talk about Ben, and three, don’t talk. You can choose from three activities; hunting, fishing and drinking. Leslie really wants to shoot something, so fishing it is.
Back at the office, Chris holds a meeting to tell all the guys to stop with the penis messages and Ann has decided to bring in a doctor to check out all of their junk, so they can stop being so “concerned.”
After Ron tells a “moving” anecdote about his toe falling off when he was 12 because he waited to long to go see a doctor, he and Leslie decide to go back to work and face their problems head on. They’re Ron Swanson and “Leslie f***ing Knope.”
Things work out well for Miss Knope – turns out Ben knew she was running for office all along. He had a “Knope 2012” pin in that box. How did he know? Leslie’s been doing campaign speeches in her sleep. Awww. Leslie officially announces her campaign and the two split ways amicably, but we all know this can’t be the end for them.
Things don’t go so well for Ron. Tammy 1 (Patricia Clarkson) appears at last, and it turns out she’s an IRS agent. Ron’s being audited, and Tammy is here to offer her help. Ron wants nothing to do with it, and the she-devil leaves with a menacing grin, and a word of advice to April about sitting up straight because “it’s not doing your breasts any favors.” Andy thinks she was right about that though.
I think I can speak for all fans of the show when I say that this was another fantastic episode of Parks and Recreation, although, we need to see a little more of Tom, Andy and April next week. Aside from that though, it was a strong episode filled with a ton of great moments. Here’s to another great season!
What did you guys think of the episode?