Parks and Recollection - Christmas Scandal (S2E12)

Episode Date: January 11, 2022

It's the Holidays in Pawnee while Rob Lowe and Alan Yang watch the 12th episode of season two! In "Christmas Scandal" A meeting with a disgraced councilman lands Leslie in the middle of a scandal. On today's episode find out the origins of the character Alexa Softcastle, the mystery note in the writer's room that read "Blood Diamond Phillips", and this episode's unique connection to SNL. Got a question for the Pawnee Town Hall? Send us an email: [e-mail] Or leave a 30-Second voicemail at: [phone] The parks department performs in the annual Pawnee City Government Follies that riffs local politics, including one sketch that skewers Councilman Bill Dexhart (Kevin Symons), who was recently discovered to be involved in many bizarre sex scandals. Leslie is later asked to meet Dexhart at a restaurant, where she learns the sketch was accidentally accurate about another bizarre sex scandal that has not been made public. After assuring Dexhart that it was merely a coincidence, Leslie discovers that the local tabloid, The Pawnee Sun, has taken pictures of their meeting and is reporting that Leslie is Dexhart's new mistress.The speculation about Dexhart and Leslie quickly spins out of control. Ron decides to give Leslie the day off to lie low and distributes her daily duties among the rest of the staff. Everyone is amazed how much Leslie does by herself each day and the entire group struggles to complete their tasks. Leslie has lunch with Dave (Louis C.K.), who reveals that his unit in the US Army Reserve has been called up to active duty in San Diego for a year to eighteen months, and invites Leslie to make the move with him.The local show "Pawnee Today" digs up an old video of Leslie shaking hands with Dexhart and overanalyzes every aspect of the short clip. Ann brings Dexhart to her home, where Ann and Leslie demand he clear Leslie's name. Dexhart refuses because the fake scandal is so docile compared to his real transgressions that it is actually positive press for him. Soon after, Ann is horrified to discover that a news crew secretly followed Dexhart to her home and took a photograph of the meeting, resulting in speculation that Ann is Leslie's lesbian lover in a three-way relationship with Dexhart. A furious Leslie schedules an appearance on "Pawnee Today" to clear her name once and for all. On the show, host Joan Callamezzo (Mo Collins) surprises Leslie by bringing out Dexhart, who tries to prove their affair by claiming that Leslie has a mole on her buttocks. To finally end the scandal, Leslie pulls down her pants on live television and moons Callamezzo. Since there is no mole, Dexhart is forced to admit that he fabricated the sex scandal.Over dinner, Leslie tells Dave that she will not move to San Diego with him, as her life is in Pawnee. Dave, although sad, understands her choice and the two split up amicably. At Pawnee's tree lighting ceremony, Leslie is congratulated by everyone, including Leslie's mother Marlene, who is proud that her daughter successfully fought off the media. Leslie returns to work the next day much to Ron's immense relief, as he could barely handle just a portion of her daily duties. Everyone is visibly glad that Leslie is back.In a B plot, April asks Andy what to get her gay boyfriend for Christmas. All of Andy's ideas are well-meaning but dumb, although it seems that April is just happy to talk with him. To thank Andy, she gets him a Reggie Wayne jersey for Christmas. Meanwhile, Mark tells Tom that he intends to get Ann a new computer bag for Christmas, but Tom tells him that he should get diamonds. In the end, he gives her the computer bag after all while Ann gives him Pacers tickets. He then gives her a second gift, telling her she does not have to go to the game, to which Ann happily accepts.

We're getting together to talk about all the things we used to do The laughs, the passions, the little Sebastian's, the pets we fell into And we're putting it on in a podcast, then we'll send it up into the sky We're calling it Parks and Recollection Come on, little podcast, spread your wings and fly Welcome, welcome, welcome to Parks and Recollection. I'm your trusted host, Rob Lowe, along with probably your even more trusted host, Alan Yang. What's up, Rolo? How are you? How are you? I think you're more trusted than me because at the end of the day, I'm an actor. Actors

lie for a living, or so people say. See, I say they tell the truth for a living. They're running the numbers. They think you're a liar. Yeah, I know my girlfriend says the same thing. She's an actor and she's like, I'm an actor and I know I can tell when you're lying Because you're not an actor I was like well what does that say about you What does that mean about you Because does that mean that you can lie And I won't be able to tell

What do you think Rob Here's what makes me crazy Is people go how do I know if you're telling the truth You're an actor And I go no no no Only bad actors lie Good actors tell the truth Like we get dialogue sent to us on a piece of paper it doesn't mean shit it's something on a piece of paper and our entire job

is to find the truth in it my job is to give you a piece of shit that you have to then turn into the truth so good luck buddy that's right i've And we're going to, and in this episode, there's so much to unpack. I loved this episode. I particularly, first of all, I love me a good Christmas episode. Yeah, that's what, it was one of the, you know, one of the things I noticed while watching it. Like that's one of the special things about these kind of network sitcoms. It's like you get to do these holiday episodes and they're really special. They're really fun. I'm a sucker for them.

I'm a sucker for them. On The West Wing, it was a big deal if your character was featured heavily in the Christmas episode. The Christmas episodes in The West Wing were always the best and almost invariably won Emmys. So I just have a special place

in my heart for it. This episode we're doing is called Christmas Scandal. And it's episode 12 of season two. It's written by, well, this is probably why it's so damn good. Everybody's boss, Mike Schur. And directed by Randall Einhorn. Yeah, it aired December 10th, 2009. So good thing it was in December.

That would make no sense if it aired in July. So December 10th, 2009. Although, good thing it was in December. That would make no sense if it aired in July. So, December 10th, 2009. Although, you know Christmas in July is a thing now. You know that, right? I've heard. I've heard. That's the exact... So, what's the origin of Christmas in July?

What's your familiarity with that? I can tell you exactly what it is. It's the success of Christmas movies, which I have done my fair share of, and they always crush. movies which i have done my fair share of and they always crush i mean in fact on the west wing i went one hiatus and did a movie called the christmas shoes and listen i love aaron sorkin he's one of my favorite people in the world and he's really talented but let's face it he's one of the biggest snobs who ever lived and he and i remember him giving me unrelenting shit that I was going away to do the Christmas shoes.

And when it came out, it broke all ratings records for like five years. Not that Aaron ever eats crow, because he just does not. He doesn't consume crow, but it was pretty close to that. What was the premise of the Christmas shoes? Were the shoes a gift? Were they Santa shoes? what was the premise of the christmas shoes were the shoes

a gift were they were they santa shoes what was the premise of the christmas shoes the shoes were the shoes that the little boy saves his allowance up to go by to give to his mommy because she is dying and going to meet jesus oh my god now for, for those of you who can't see the feed, I know I just laughed, but I am crying. I am crying on the Zoom right now because that is beautiful, Rob. And by the way, you will cry like a baby at this movie. It's one of those things, it's total tangent here,

but it's one of those things that was one of those, remember in the early days of the internet, even pre sort of Facebook, people would share like apocryphal poems or stories that you didn't really know were true or not true or remember that? And they'd be a thing. And so this went around as one of those stories called The Christmas Shoes. And it's very tear jerking and heartwarming. And then it became a book. Somebody wrote a book based on this thing, and then it became a hit country and western song.

So, at every iteration, this little story became a little phenomenon, and finally it was a movie. But for you, Rob, what you did as an actor is you took that internet falsehood and turned it into truth. That's what you did. That's what you did in the Christmas shoes. Because I don't lie. Should we get into the synopsis of Christmas Scandal? Synopsis up this thing. All right.

This is it for all of my synopsisters and synopbrothers here. The Parks Department performs the annual Pawnee City Government Follies. This is the cold open. That riffs local politics, including one sketch that skewers councilman Bill Dexhart. Leslie's asked to meet Dexhart at a restaurant where she learns the sketch was accidentally accurate, while also unknowingly being photographed by the Pawnee Sun. The speculation about Dexhart and Leslie quickly spins out of control. Ron decides to give Leslie the day off to lie low

and distributes her daily duties among the rest of the staff. Leslie has lunch with Dave, who reveals that his unit in the U.S. Army Reserve has been called up to active duty in San Diego and invites Leslie to make the move with him. Ultimately, Leslie will not be joining Dave in his move. Throughout the madness, April asks Andy what to get her gay boyfriend for Christmas. All of Andy's ideas are well-meaning but dumb. To thank Andy, she gets him a Reggie Wayne jersey

for Christmas. In the A story, Anne brings Dex Hart to her home, where Anne and Leslie demand he clear Leslie's name. Dex Hart refuses because the fake scandal is so docile compared to his real transgressions. Soon after, Anne is horrified to discover that a news crew secretly followed Dex Hart to her home and took a photograph of that meeting, resulting in Anne being added to the tabloid speculation. Leslie schedules an appearance on Pawnee Today to clear her name. Host Joan Calamezzo surprises Leslie by bringing out Dex Hart, who tries to prove their affair by claiming Leslie has a mole on her buttocks. It says buttocks in the synopsis, so I'm reading buttocks there. To finally end the scandal, Leslie pulls down her pants on live television and shows Calamezzo that she has no mole.

Leslie returns to work the next day, much to Ron's immense relief as he could barely handle just a portion of her daily duties. A lot going on in this episode, Rob. I mean, longer synopsis than usual. It is truly, by the time they get to the mark i i you just can't believe how much has gone on in this episode i think she they get she gets photographed with dexhart twice it's just like she she gets photographed with and then again with ann it's like are they lesbians it's like it keeps on it's as purd happily says a story that just won't stop developing it just keeps developing the story of this story is that it won't stop developing i think is the the purd happily quote we're learning how to write purd in this episode i think oh this is definitely

you got this is the first time purd is in full purd mode yeah um also i thought this is one of the happiest teasers maybe it's because i'm a sucker like i said i really am a sucker for christmas yeah i'm like a big sap and i love christ carols. I love, love, love all of it. I love Christmas decorations. And seeing the filled in pit now as a vacant lot now turned into a Christmas extravaganza was really sweet and really cool. Yeah, I thought that was a really smart use of the lot, right? Because it's like, okay, well, we're not just going to discard this idea of the pit that turned into a lot. And then we talked about the lot right so so then we turned it into these various things over the course of future episodes

um having it be this sort of holiday thing was really festive and it was like almost again symbolic of the transformation of the show from this hole in the ground to you know this is something that people can use to celebrate and producer greg points out we were renting the lot anyway so we used it. So save some money. Yeah, we had the property, which is a good point. Another thing I noticed in the Follies, you know, again, obviously, you know, Amy Poehler comes from sketch comedy and Mike Shore worked on SNL. So, you know, there's a little bit of sketch involved, you know, wearing wigs, all that stuff. I don't know if you noticed this, Retta, who plays Donna, very prominently chewing gum. Yes.

Very prominently. I could not, drew my eye as if it was like the center of, I could not stop. I was like, did someone know, should someone have told her not to do that? I don't know. By the way, that's the kind of shit

Brad Whitford would do behind all my close-ups in the West Wing. Just see if I can get, hey man, you gotta do something. Get out of that Rob gleam. Brad's gotta do something. Man, you got to do something. Get out of that Rob gleam. Brad's got to do something. Man, something's got to do something. And the other thing, of course, is Ron Swanson is not singing. Yes, that very in character. And you realize also how valuable Jerry and Donna was because over the course of the show, you know, we realized a lot of the characters

didn't work in the parks department, right? So you have Mark and Ann and andy and they're not in the parks department so that's why can you imagine if without jeremy donna it's like three or four people up there which it's it's not a full office so we utilize those characters i realized that watching it was like a you we utilize those characters because it fills out the office and you give them personalities and you love them as well and it just kind of makes the world seem a little more real and filled out they talk about they're going to be eventually later in the episode going to be doing a christmas tree lighting ceremony that's going to be on internet radio this that was something i was going to point out later that that the entire episode is very media heavy and they're talking about the 24-hour

news cycle cable news all this stuff obviously it was kind of a metaphor for cable. And if this episode were airing today, it would just all be about social media. Because that was already 24-hour news cycle, sure. But it would all be more instantaneous. It would be immediate. And I always kind of hate that in modern-day shows, like things going viral. But it is how things happen now. That is real now.

It used to feel so fake, but now like it would be totally different. It wouldn't be a cable access news show, right? You know, it's the kind of stuff that we think about all the time as, as writers and producers. And, but I, I think probably the average fan or audience member doesn't realize that the fact that we all have smartphones takes away so many things writers have used from millennia yeah to make conflict and props it ruins everything it's a nightmare i mean can you imagine all the president's men today we have to like find the person or three days three days of the condor that that great thriller robert would now be three minutes of the condor yeah and any rom-com okay and then he just texts her end of the movie well this is a misunderstanding it's like we'll kill him on

his cell phone you can use it literally anywhere so it's just there's no it's it you you have to work harder to contrive these stories and now i love in modern day horror movies you always have to have the shot of someone establishing i don't have any service like someone just has to say i like you have to say that because like i don't have service because like you could just call somebody just call for help call anybody call your mom or dad like you're that's you can reach anybody literally at any time so that has to be accounted for anyway by the way and that ladies and gentlemen is why movies are so bad today. Thank you. The only reason.

That's the only reason. The only reason. That's our excuse and we're sticking to it. God. Dex Hart. Let's give props to Dex Hart. I mean, that's a great character. It's a funny character.

Well-performed, too. Well-performed, well-written, so unrelentingly gross gross and just unapologetically gross makes me laugh yeah and i have no plans to resign right i have no plans to resign like all that stuff oh like i know we're jumping to the ending here but but while we're on the topic of dex heart i was thinking what's what's wild is this this ending where she pulls down her pants and dex heart is proven wrong i was again thinking if this were done today in modern day, he would... So basically in the episode

Dexhart says, okay, you got me. I made it up. But I honestly think if this happened today in real life or in a comedy, he would say, you know what? It's the other cheek. Or no, it's not. He would just keep lying. He would just double down. There's no admitting anyone's wrong. Certainly not a politician.

When's the last time a politician said, you know what? I was wrong. I was like, man, a scumbag like Dexart would definitely in 2021 say, well, she must have gotten it removed or whatever. She must have gotten the mole removed. Like, I don't lie. I'm right. Frankly, that's what I was expecting. Yeah.

Like, that was the natural story move. It just rang like not false for then, but false for now. I was like, like man a politician now would just double down for sure that he immediately folded his tent and went home i was shocked i thought he big did you check to see if she hadn't applied makeup over them yes exactly it was a more innocent time a decade ago um i always like to talk about the lines that made me laugh out loud in an episode and i love tom haverford's line when he's talking about diamonds, where he's like, everybody loves diamonds.

Even those like super left-wing chicks who love blood diamond. We had a lot. I feel like we talked about the movie Blood Diamond in the writer's room an inordinate amount of time. A movie that did not make a blip on the cultural radar, other than Leonardo Di caprio doing a south african accent one of the weirdest movies of all time but we talked about blood diamond all the time i think and then craig lemmy points out the movie the contender which is a joe and alan movie

i believe but but yeah blood diamond i think at some point this is nothing but there was a card so you know in the writer's room we write down ideas on cards right three by five index cards and they're just scattered about the room if you would walk in rob you probably remember this you walk into the room there's hundreds of multi-colored three by five index cards and some of them are episode ideas some of them are beats in a story some of them are lines some of them are characters whatever we had a card that said blood diamond phillips like a play on lew diamond phillips which is nothing it's it's a pure nothing i think it got written on and it stayed in the writer's room for five

years i'm not like it just was it just was there i was like what are we looking at here why is that on the that it was either on the wall or on a table or and it just never and i just laughed made me laugh like in between seasons it got cleaned up and then distributed again like just a card that said blood diamond phillips like what does that mean but we weirdly were obsessed with the movie blood diamond i don't even know what happens in that movie but but yeah that somehow bled its way into the script bled its way into the script pun not intended this is why there's nothing better than being in a comedy writer's room. Because these weird little flights of fans, and we had it on the grinder, they were obsessed with Hobbes and Shaw. Yeah. And everything was about Hobbes and Shaw.

And the theory about Hobbes and Shaw, by the way, was they felt like the first 20 minutes was the most perfect action movie ever made. And the rest of it, the worst movie ever made. But like, do you remember what the obsession was on The Contender? I'm very, very curious about this. Yes, The Contender, so for the uninitiated, and again, not to spoil The Contender, a 30-year-old movie at this point,

but I believe what happens in The Contender is she's accused of something. I think it's like a like a sex tape or something like that or some kind of sex scandal and i believe the plot is she refuses to dignify it with a response so she's she in the movie she says basically she's so morally pure and upright she's like i don't i will not get down in the mud with you and i will not even deign to hold a press conference to deny that this happens because that is not the tenor of my campaign that is or you know i think she was vice president or something i don't remember this is a great great summary of the contender the writer of the contenders listening to this

and be like no you're butchering it but ultimately it's something like that where she refuses to deny an allegation against her and so initially it came up as a story idea for Leslie. And honestly, it's kind of interesting because it's tied into this episode a little bit. But the idea that there's some, we always would just say, yeah, okay, then the contender type things happen like where she doesn't, she won't dignify it with a response. But that became a shorthand. The number of times, and then we do a contender type thing it's like it's it never ended up even happening the show but but using that very obscure movie as a shorthand is so funny to me because it's like it becomes it becomes a another language like i don't know if you've ever heard the phrase

like in a relationship what you know in a romantic relationship you develop this language and and that's one of the things that if you break up or separate, that language dies. There's something beautiful about that. But a writer's room definitely has its own language, that there's these weird shorthands and inside jokes and things that spiral out of nothing, that everyone weirdly knows. These 12 people will never forget, quite frankly. And ask any writer from season two or three about The Contender. They all remember what it is. weirdly. These 12 people will never forget, quite frankly. And that is, ask any writer from season 2 or 3 about The Contender, they all remember what it is.

Which is very weird, but yeah. More people remember the Parks and Rec writers room jokes about The Contender than the actual movie. That's what they're saying. They're saying they just, on IMDb, the Contender bit just surpassed The Contender. The star meter for The Contender bit just got put up there.

Another thing I noticed, Robin, you could talk about this too, is it opens and it's supposed to be Christmas in Indiana. And they're standing in a lot in San Fernando Valley wearing these heavy winter coats. And you just know it's 100 degrees. Like, you know it's – look at the actor. It's so bright. It's so sunny. You're like, oh, my God, you know it's 100 degrees.

I don't know if you've ever shot out of season like that. I don't know if you have any stories about that. I shot a Christmas – another Christmas movie. Christmas Pants? Christmas Pants This was Christmas Pants Was the sequel By the way There was a sequel

To Christmas Shoes And it starred Blake Shelton And Neil Patrick Harris Oh wow okay Yeah But they would only make it

If I appeared in it So I did three scenes In it In old age makeup Yes Cash those checks Rob Hey babe You know Gotta get my bag hey um yeah so uh but this is another christmas movie yeah the christmas blessing there it is that's what

it's called i'm in old age makeup never seen it don't know if it's any good never seen it. Never seen it. Very scared about the old age makeup. Yeah. But I shot a Christmas movie in August in New Orleans. Oh, my God. That was not fun. They should have called it August in New Orleans just to explain what you're seeing on screen. People sweating. Does Santa Claus die of heat stroke in it?

Because it's like, oh man. I also did a Christmas scene. It was meant to be snow, shoppers, carolers of New York City in South Africa. Was it Cape Town or where were they presenting? It was in Cape Town. By the way, one of the most beautiful places in the planet. Hey, I love Cape Town. Now we have some Cape Town connection. But yeah, Table Mountain and the weather. It's really beautiful. Actually, shooting there is interesting because we were driving to some vineyards.

This is the most bougie thing in the world. We were driving to some vineyards from Cape Town, but we passed a big stage. They said they were shooting stuff there. Like, wow, you can do it for cheaper there, right that the idea oh yeah for sure um i i i don't sully myself with such things i only went to africa to shoot because it took place in africa yeah there you go except for this thing that was new york in africa except for that one part uh but yeah no the actors that's one of the things i'm it's funny i'm going to it hotanta, as they call it, in two weeks to shoot. And it's going to be hot.

And I've already called up and said, I need an air conditioning tent anytime I'm outside. Like a phone booth, old school phone booth, where I just go stand in it. Like a tent. And they open the door and out I come. tent and they they like they open the door and out i come and i because you can't shoot with wardrobe 12 hours outside in that kind of weather you just can't and the valley we did it when i came on to parks i'll never forget we do a there's a thing where it's a barbecue and nick's character has it attached to his truck and then he runs he drives out and the truck spins out this is coming in an episode we'll discuss as we get closer to it but i will never forget how hot it was and how we almost died we literally almost died and and it really affects your performance you know it like i i sympathize

in the sense that you know being on set granted there's a lot of other people working on set but the actors have to be in their wardrobe right so they like they can you can get a warming like if it's freezing cold and you're you know there's scenes where people are you know not wearing the proper clothing they have to just shoot the take and then someone runs in and gives them a warming coat but you know like if you're in a winter coat and it's 100 degrees outside like i don't i don't care who you are like you're not gonna act that well how. How about this? That's really hard. I remember in those scenes being, like, I had jeans on and one of Chris's little boy striped shirts, but Offerman would be in a wool sweater. Oh, my God.

Yeah. Hey, man. The struggles. The struggles of being an actor. But no, that's real. That's real. So get that cooling tent in Atlanta, man. The struggle's real. Dude, the struggle's real. Get that cooling tent in Atlanta. The struggle's real.

Dude, the struggle's real. I'm not going to lie. Atlanta is not going to be pleasant, but good luck. Is this another Christmas movie? Is this a Christmas hat? No, this is an Easter movie. Oh, I like that. I like that.

It's a little holiday. No, it's not Easter. This is good. I got a line. You know what else I noticed about this episode? Aubrey Plaza's credit shot is yes episode she's wearing that multi-colored sweater she's talking to andy of the shoeshine stand then what happens she walks away and looks at the camera and that's her credit for multiple years so i made a note in my notes while watching the episode, Aubrey Plaza does a great

job with her facial acting in this episode. She sells, she, it's, it's in a very slight story that doesn't take up a ton of screen time. You're like, oh, she's in love with him. And it's because she looks to camera four times and smiles. And it's like, oh, it's like the power of somebody acting slightly out of character, right? It's like seeing a cat smile, right? It's like oh it's like the power of somebody acting slightly out of character right it's like seeing a cat smile right it's like this is this is it's so so winning and you're like oh my god i've seen this character for 20 episodes and 15 episodes whatever and this is the only person who brings her joy it's like oh she's in love with him and that's kind of cool she did a great job i thought she like was very charming and i was very excited to see the famous uh reggie wayne jersey that jersey stayed around for a long time he gets married

in it eventually yes remember that jersey because seasons later she you know he gets married and i have some great photos from that from that episode where mouse rat plays and there's photos of us with pratt in that jersey because he's getting married to torey. But yeah, it was cool to see it set up. And then you remember that stuff for future episodes? It's all building a universe. It's all building a universe. But yeah, they're very cute together and they bring out the best of each other in the show, I think.

It was a fortunate pairing. There's a restaurant that Leslie and Dave, they go to, it's a very quick scene, but they're having lunch in this restaurant that literally looks like Kate Mantellini's. And that's a dated Los Angeles reference. It looks like they're in a big city for sure. But it's like, I was like, wait, what the hell happened here? I mean, what? Did you notice that? It was extremely jarring.

I almost wrote down, it was too quick. I didn't want to go back, but the restaurant had a name on the side, but I was like, it looks like they're in Brooklyn or something. Yes! It looks like we're suddenly in Sex and the City. Wait, why is this exterior? I mean, Morgan Sackett must have been asleep this week because this thing doesn't look anything like the Parks and Recreation universe. It's hard. I think you have to try to find a restaurant whose exterior does not look like it's in a major metropolitan city but they might as well have they might as

well have panned down from the empire state building at that point it was like this this seems like so much like it's a big city but it's also it was that so it was that and then again i don't want to mock the writing the show because it's i worked on it it's a great show in my opinion but it also was kind of funny to me going from that exterior and then going in, and it's Officer Dave just being like, I'm going to Army Reserve duty. I was like, that is pretty, I don't know, that made me laugh because it's like, there's guest arcs, and he's not going to be on the show for 100 episodes. So you got to figure out some way to, some elegant way to get him gone. But I remember discussing that and we thought we'd cover it by saying like he's not going off to war anything he's going to

san diego it's a desk job whatever but it did make me laugh a little bit that's like yeah he's going oh he's going to army reserve duty okay see my that's that's not my issue with the writing my issue with the writing is the false stakes oh that, that she would move. Leslie's going to now go, I'm leaving Pawnee to go to San Diego? I'm surprised that survived because that's some bad false stakes. Yeah, I think so. So sometimes in the writer's room, that's called schmuck bait, right?

It's like you're using a threat that no thinking audience member, unless he or she is a child, would believe that the character would actually leave the show and abandon the entire setting of the television show. But yes, you're right that that's something we talked about. And there was pros and cons. And, you know, I also kind of thought, again, this was just me kind of wish casting the show, but I kind of thought that the Parks and Rec characters would win her over and then she'd say no to Dave.

But she actually says no to Dave first and then goes back. It all worked out. But, you know, the show's good. Come on, guys. The show's good. Those are our quibbles with the show. Listen, we can't just be shills every time we show up. I don't think we are.

We just sat on one of the locations for like two minutes. I don't think we are. We just shat on one of the locations for like two minutes. Yeah. I also love Louis C.K.'s iteration of playing a stupid person. I mean, because Dave is so earnestly. It's not that he's dumb, but it's really interesting. It's like he's just earnestly simple and super uncomplicated. It's like cop talk, right?

So at some point he says, do I love Leslie? That's an affirmative. You know, it's like overly official trying to mask your lack of intelligence by using words that make it sound more official. That's essentially what that character is. And honestly, it's pretty fun to write.

Yeah. I just wanted to point out quickly a little run that Andy has. His story of the gossip at the shoeshine stand about what he heard. It's a very long run. And to me, it was a great example of the writers learning how to write for Andy. Because it's like, he would later do even longer, crazier runs. I think there's one in your Bachelor Party episode, I think, where he goes on a crazy story. Yeah, episode two parties. That he wants me, if something were to happen to him. Yes, he wants you to marry April, but then secretly he's not dead. He's alive in a cave training to come back and kill you or something.

But it's one of the funniest things that has ever been in the show. And this one is, I feel like, is a tiny embryo fetus version of that where it's like oh if we just have him talk for that long and something he made up like it is really funny so i that's what that reminded me of i mean you really do get to see what a what just a comedy killer pratt is yes and he's just a fucking beast and so natural funny and so now it doesn't feel pushed right it's like no there's so many times there's a there's a magic and there's a special charisma in being able to deliver jokes and have them be funny but not have them be hammy or sweaty or on the nose or just not in any sort of reality he He always delivers stuff natural, but it's still funny.

That's really hard. And that's, you know, and he's still an actor, right? He's not also just someone who's coming in being funny. He obviously can act as well. So kudos to Brad. Good luck to that young man.

I hope he does well. There's also another thing I want to point out. There's a character named Alexa Softcastle who is a reporter. Not very interesting fact, but one of the directors on Parks is named Alex Hardcastle. So we very lazily named this character Alexa Softcastle. This is just not no imagination there. Just really, just truly a lazy move.

But she says her full name, which is not really necessary. But she comes in as like Alexa Softcastle here castle here like what do you have to think about like what do you think about that is like it just made me laugh thinking back to why we did that but yeah i don't think alex hardcastle probably ever saw this episode either but we'll see i don't know here's what here's what's funny about that is like it makes you guys laugh you know the genesis of it yeah i have no idea the genesis of it and i laughed out loud when she said her name. Yeah, I mean, it's a funny name. Because it's just a soft cast. It's just funny.

It is funny. Not the first or last of many silly names on the show. And by the way, one of many reporters in the history of this show so i would be curious how many episodes the press appears in in parks and rec out of the 125 episodes i would guess it's at least 20 maybe more because it's it's just a huge yeah and you know what why we used it sometimes is it's it's a it's a stakes razor basically when there's a when there's a spotlight on you one of the tricky things i think about writing stories for a relatively grounded small office-based comedy is what are the stakes what's really important obviously what's important is the character's emotional states and their motivations and what they care about and who they're in love with and who they want to be friends with etc but ultimately you need some plot stakes as well and and the we would always we didn't want to

overuse it but it always increases the stakes it's like oh the press is there a reporter's there they're doing a story on it because if you think about it in that in your real life like yeah if a reporter came and did a negative story on you and you're just a regular person like that would actually be really important in your life so we did turn to that we went to the well of the media you know often in the show and it was fun you know it was fun i like the way pawnee has basically their own version of the new york post they they've got the post they've got like trash cable news they've got pert hapley the local reporter they've got a talk i mean it's it's a robust local media landscape in pawnee surprisingly so yeah the the

uh what are they called legacy Legacy Media is thriving well. Yeah, we got radio hosts. We got, yeah, there's a whole ecosystem there. It's a lot going on. But yeah, that was funny when Donna was reading the Pawnee Sun. The Pawnee Sun is basically New York Post, so. When Leslie is talking, the local media here just always blows things out of proportion and just reports on it and reports on it

and they won't start reporting. They once had somebody from Pawnee go to the Olympics and they did it for literally a year. And this prince was just going to the Olympics to watch. Yeah, it wasn't even competing. It was just a guy. It was just a boy who went to the Olympics. Yes. And shout out to Mo Collins who plays Joan Calamatso. I mean, we would

use her again and again. So I think it's someone who just plays kind of a drunk, insane person, person but yeah just roiling it up and stirring she's not drunk yet she's not drunk yet in this one she's not as drunk or lascivious in this one but yes she's just shit stirring she's stirring the pot right when did you decide to make her an alcoholic uh i feel like maybe season three i think when things get a little crazier but then it was very much very much so involved in in most of her appearances and i think she enjoyed playing that she just got war war crazier and crazier stuff and yeah she that was a you know a little unlocking

of that character i think maybe so the other thing i wanted to i, I wanted to ask producer Greg this. So do you remember, so Dex Hart sees Leslie and Ann, he's, they're leaving. And then he's like, well, then he basically asked them, should we, like, should we have sex? Like, should we just do this anyway? Am I wrong? Or was this some kind of writer's room bit? Was it before the, was it before we wrote it into the show or was it after? Or do you not remember this? Greg, I don't remember. Like, what was it before the was it before we wrote it into the show or was it after or do you not remember this greg i'm done i don't remember like what was it i can't remember if it was before or after but it did become a run in the room of a should we did we will we right then we would just

keep doing this and it would come up different points but um i don't think it came if i remember correctly i don't think it came before this it was because of this moment maybe maybe because of i mean and now that seems like a clear some sort of sexual harassment violation but i've never met in that in that way but it was i think it was it was literally like you know norm would be in the kitchen making a bagel and so and like like harris would go in to pour some cereal and it would literally be like should we like any like the totally devoid of content like it would it would literally be like, should we? Like totally devoid of context. Like it would always be in the least sexual situation possible. It was never people who were actually attracted to each other or any sort of, it was just like, it was four people in a room.

And then if conversation petered out, someone would just say, should we? Like, or did we or will we? Like that. So, but that persisted for years too, which is inappropriate, but also pretty funny. Here's the takeaway from this episode, people. Try this in your lives. Yeah, definitely. Definitely try to get that in your workplace. Probably going to get fired, but you could do it there. Your family, if you want to do it there. But yeah, should we? Just at the end of any conversation, really inappropriate.

Should we? Should we? It's so clear what he means. All he says is should we? But it's very clear what he's so gross. It's so gross what he's doing. Again, shout out to the performer doing something very creepy.

Okay, so, you know I love reading Dex Hart because he does something in the performance as crazy as this is as I'm about to read. He does a little tiny thing in the performance that made me laugh even more so and he leans over the table to leslie and goes stop playing dumb

you know damn well what happened i got the babysitter pregnant and then when she was in the delivery room i had sex with not one but four nurses in the supply closet as well as a woman whose husband was getting liver transplant now which one of them told you it was the hmm made me laugh so hard and then i think he also ends with which one of them told you was it the liver lady like was it the was it the liver lady is really truly a liver lady yeah it was like all right we went there man we went there it's like this this dude he's like but yeah a solid performance playing basically playing almost doing almost like a nixon voice or something that's a very very strange bassy voice from that

guy but yeah it worked he is doing a nixon we and we see there's some public forum action in this one i noticed yeah i noticed the guy mentioned swine flu and turtle flu and i got covid flash but not even flashbacks because it's still happening but flash forwards yeah covid flash forwards very awful to hear i was like oh no swine flu it was not a joke guys it's not a joke i loved it and you know i loved everything about the town hall it feels more in the rhythm of what the show used, you know, used it as. And Greg Levine notes it's the first one without Leslie. So, you know, it's Ron trying to handle it, which is, you know, which is interesting.

Yeah, it felt like the first one where it's literally just rapid fire comedy gags. It wasn't like there was no plot being serviced. It was just everybody who stood up was more insane than the next person, which is what they became. And we ended up using some of those townspeople in future episodes. I remember the first lady and the sandwich. The lady who's obsessed with sandwiches, I think, comes back multiple times. Because, you know, you can't let that lady go after one line. You got to keep having her come back and talk about sandwiches, which is funny. I can talk about sandwiches, which is funny. Again, which is all the actors out there. It just goes to show you, you can crush with one line. No, in all seriousness, it's really, really true.

If you come in and throw down, people will remember. They really, really will. They will. Because yeah, if you stand out, there is. A couple other things I want to note quickly. Seeing Leslie's mom was hilarious because it's like, because she used to be such an evil character. And then at the end of her, she the end she's like all right there you go and she just hugs her and it's over it's like all right um and then in the vein of gifts parties and jobs it's a little bit of a

cheat because it's christmas episode but there are three gifts at the end of this episode so in the tradition of parks and rec there's there's three gifts and it's kind of the end of those stories you know they they kind of we kind of use them as wrapping them up i know you are you because you're a very deferential wonderful man are always at pains to spread the credit around in the writer's room and even though someone's name may be on the script the truth of it is it really is collaborative and that is true however i'm just from an outsider this ending is vintage mike schur it basically ends on leslie in her office as saying leslie no parks department and you just kind of get a good feeling that she's where she belongs and she's at her job where

she's very valued and loved by the people she works with it's almost west wingian yep it's west wing it's frank capra it's that kind of thing, right? Yeah, it is. It's unabashed sentiment. And maybe sentiment isn't the right thing, but there's like not being afraid to go for an emotional jugular, albeit in a really subtle way. Yeah, I don't mind that too. It just just reminds me of i think early on when i was writing on some show or something they they they mentioned something called a treacle cutter where it's like yeah yeah and then you put a treacle cutter in and you just put a joke in at the end so it's not like treacly i'm like well late as i as i got older as a writer i was like well if you're doing it right the emotions in your show shouldn't be treacle. They should be valuable and your characters should

be human beings you believe in and you care about. And I'm not saying every scene should be emotional and sentimental, but ultimately, I don't think you should need treacle cutters unless you're doing it wrong in some ways. But every show has its own tone. But yeah, certainly there's no treacle cutter at the end of that episode it's just it's just emotional which is fine and a treacle is what exactly a treacle i think is something that is it's a overly sweet and syrupy substance um and in the case of an emotional scene it's usually one that's unearned emotion or something that feels sort of hacky or sentimental when it shouldn't be so trickle cutter it's kind of like pudding

would you like some pudding before a bit like pudding it's a thick sticky dark syrup made from partly refined sugar molasses i don't know what that was. You're in. But I had fun doing it. Yeah. You just got cast in Christmas Galoshes. It's a British movie. Yes. There you go.

The Christmas Wellingtons. The Christmas Wellingtons. That's what you want. That's what you want. I love it. I love it I love it lead us to the town hall Mr. Yang let's do it

let's take a town hall question this is where we take questions from the listeners who are curious about the show. Where shall we do the town hall in the town of Pawnee today, Roblo? I got a suggestion. Why don't we do it in the house of the enemy, the Pawnee library? Our arch enemies, our arch enemies. We'll do it in the library. Hopefully no dirty librarians are there, but we'll be surrounded by books and we'll do the town hall there. Keep your voice down.

It's a library. I like that. Now I feel like I'm on NPR. I'll read this like I'm on NPR. Please do. This question comes to us from Jackie in Minneapolis. No, no, no. You already fucked it up. You have to go, this question comes to us from Jackie in Minneapolis. No, no, no, no. You already fucked it up. You have to go, this question comes to us from Jackie and Minneapolis?

There has to be up-speak at the end of everything. I just realized I haven't listened to NPR in a while. Anyway, this is Ira Glass. Okay. The question is, favorite improvised moment that did not make it into the final cut? Favorite improvised

moment that did not make it and i want to open this up to a producer greg to opine yeah i i'm thinking of one too it's pretty dirty so i don't know if i want to read it there's one so there's one in a dvd i don't know i know what this is this is a pratt one it's it's pretty dirty though it's something like everyone loves he's at a town hall i believe and he's he's in the audience sitting next to april i can see it in my head and he says oh what's everyone's like what's your favorite comeback story he's like oh my favorite comeback story it's gotta be uh it's gotta be kim kardashian's comeback story like didn't she get some on her back that did not make it in the show. I know. I'm trying to think of what other, like, runs people went on that.

Oh, well. No, it did go in, didn't it? Patton Oswalt's famous. Oh, yeah. No, that didn't make it all the way in. That's actually pretty, like, we used a little bit of it. So, yeah, Patton Oswalt's character talks, you know, basically does a filibuster about how the Star Wars and Marvel Cinematic Universes should merge. about how the star wars and marvel cinematic universes should merge and so if you go on the internet and search padden oswalt mcu uh star wars i think you'll be able to find it because he goes

on for like 10 minutes about it ashiak has been destroyed by this very mysterious force now we know oh this was thanos thanos is beginning to uh you know gather power in this new universe so uh while they take chewie's head down uh to because we've seen that you know they gather power in this new universe. So while they take Chewie's head down to, because we've seen that, you know, they can build new bodies. They're going to build Chewie, this really cool robot. I'm thinking spider body, you know, like a cool spider body with Chewie's head and ion cannons on it. But that will be in the, he'll come back.

That'll be the post-credits tease of this film. So keep that in mind. So I don't want you guys bummed out because Chewbacca's not dead. He will come back. He went on long enough that people were able to call from the set to the writer's room. You guys got to come down here and see what Patton is doing. And writers had the time to hear this and arrive at the studio and Patton was still talking. By the way, in an interesting presaging of corporate synergy, this was before they were both bought by Disney.

So now it could actually happen because at the time, Star Wars was Lucasfilm and Marvel was Sony and all this other stuff. But then, of course, Disney bought both of them. So we could see that. And just another bit of presaging, the opening sequence of the book of boba fett and just a little bit of spoiler warning it ends with uh this shot eerily eerily similar to the way patent describes um boba fett emerging from the sandpit coincidence inspiration

maybe hat tip to patent and parks let's find out his his rant will come true it's a nine minute long rant on youtube so i know we did a thing where chris and ann this is in episodes to come when i when chris shows up on the show but where chris and ann were walking romantically and chris out of nowhere takes up off and parkours up the side of a tree yeah i did was that in the episode? But I don't think it was in the episode. Really? I don't think it was in.

I remember when parkour was written and it just made everyone laugh so much to picture it. I do remember that. So maybe just you and me have seen it, Rob. I don't know if you've seen it or you lived it, but yeah, I think you like run up a tree. I literally run up a tree. It made me laugh.

And we did a great thing. It was what they call a Texas switch in Stuntman parlance, which is it's the kind of thing where I run around a tree to go up the thing, but the stuntman is hiding behind the tree. So I run to the tree and the stuntman then just comes out from the tree. And it's called a Texas switch. We've switched them on camera and they ran to the tree and the stuntman then just comes out from the tree. And it's called a Texas switch. We've switched them on camera and, and they ran up the tree. There's a great Texas switch. My favorite Texas switch.

If you ever want to see one is I'm a connoisseur of horrible 1970s opening credits. If you ever want to watch SWAT, it's great. There's an actor that comes through the window. He jumps through the window. It shatters, drops out of frame and then comes up with his gun. And it's so clearly a stunt that comes through the window he jumps through the window it shatters drops out of frame and then comes up with his gun and it's so clearly a stuntman coming through the

window dropping below and then the actor just popping up it's brilliant so funny i love a texas switch man that's like that's great it would be great if uh the person who popped up was the fake baby from american sniper with a gun a gun. That's the Texas switch. I love me that baby. You know I do. So my favorite improv that never made it into an episode is when Pratt and Aubrey are talking to Dr. Harris. It's in the episode where he gets all of his doctor appointments. I think it's campaign ad in season four.

And he's with Dr. Harris talking about symptoms. And he says something like, you know, sometimes when I wipe, I'll wipe and I'll wipe, I'll wipe 100 times still poop, still poop. It's like I'm wiping a marker or something. And Aubrey starts cracking up from the moment Pratt pauses after sometimes when I poop and he pauses just long enough and she starts cracking up she won't stop laughing the entire scene it's definitely definitely one of my favorite improvs um and i love going back to it yes oh my god well listen thanks everybody this was a good one another good episode um and there are 120 some more to come and you better be here for them uh Signing off, this is Rob Lowe, soon-to-be Chris Traeger.

When we finally get to my episodes, just chill. It's going to happen. All right. Thanks to producers Schulte and Greg. Goodbye, everybody. Parks and Recollection is produced by Greg Levine and me, Rob Schulte. Our coordinating producer is Lisa Berm. The podcast is executive produced by Alan Yang for Alan Yang Productions,

Rob Lowe for Low Profile, Jeff Ross, Adam Sachs, and Joanna Solitaroff at Team Coco, and Colin Anderson at Stitcher. Gina Batista, Paula Davis, and Britt Kahn are our talent bookers. The theme song is by Mouse Rat, a.k Batista, Paula Davis, and Britt Kahn are our talent bookers. The theme song is by Mouse Rat, a.k.a. Mark Rivers, with additional tracks composed by John Danek. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next time

on Parks and Recollection. This has been a Team Coco production in association with Stitcher.