Parks and Recollection - John Balma: Leslie vs. April (S5E7)

Episode Date: April 30, 2024

“Calc-you-later!” Ben receives a slew of job offers, Andy launches a full-scale investigation into his missing computer, and Leslie and April go toe to toe over a dog park project proposed for Lot 48; Jim O’Heir and Greg Levine get into all of it in this week’s episode walkthrough of “Leslie vs. April.” Plus, John Balma stops by to talk about playing Pawnee’s most enthusiastic accountant, Barney Varmn.

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 Hello and welcome to another episode of Parks and Recollection Oh God, who is this character? I don't know

And where has he been forever? I might get a whole series based on that Parks and Recollection You might tell them who you are jim in my bedroom hi i'm jim o'hare gary lear jared terry barry from parks and recollection and you my friend are it's greg hello everybody this is so exciting jim we're back talking about another episode of our show i always loved this one pitting leslie versus april because today we're talking about another episode of our show i always loved this one pitting leslie versus april because today we're talking about leslie versus april that is the title of the episode title of the episode that's the subject of the episode and it's just it's fun it feels like we've been

building to this kind of a thing for several seasons where they can kind of go head to head but know that they're going to work out in the end. Of course. Versus perhaps season two, you could think of them going head-to-head, and April says, great, I quit. Yeah. Right?

And there's a lot of character development in this one, especially for April. Yeah. Which I love. Because no one plays it better than Aubrey. Yes. And later, we're going to be joined by John Balma. Barney!

Barney Barm. Barney's most enthusiastic accountant. In the whole world. Not. Barney! Barney Barm. Pawnee's most enthusiastic accountant. In the whole world, not just Pawnee. I think in the world, he is the most enthusiastic. Yes. So that's going to be

an exciting conversation that I can't wait to get to as well. In today's episode, Leslie vs. April, written by Harris Whittles. Yes. Harris, we love you. Directed by Wendy Stanzler.

Originally aired November 15th, 2012. And Jim will blurb us. After proposing a dog park project on Leslie's coveted lot 48, April and Leslie go head to head over the land's potential use. Meanwhile, Andy launches a full scalescale investigation after his computer was stolen, and Ben receives a slew of job offers while shopping around Tom's new business, Rent-A-Swag. All right, great job, Jim. Let us jump right into our synopsis because we have an awesome cold open to talk about. Still buzzing from their engagement,

Leslie and Ben have returned to Washington, D.C. to pack up the rest of Ben's things. But before heading back to Pawnee for good, Ben has an engagement present for Leslie that's even better than a waffle tower from JJ's Diner. A meet and greet with her favorite vice president, her favorite person, perhaps, Joe Biden. Yeah. Okay. So now President Joe Biden, then Vice President Joe Biden is in our fucking episode. Let me ask you this. When you guys are in the writer's room, is there chatter about this? Like, are we thinking this can happen? No, we're just casual. We're like, oh, great.

But what else? Of course. What do you mean there's a chatter? Do you think this is a possibility? We're saying we're going to get the Vice President of the United States in an episode of Parks and Recreation. Like, I don't know how that happens. I don't know the exact how we got him, but I do know that, you know, we've had other politicians on the show. I mean, John McCain is in the season premiere, Cory Booker, and we've had... Gingrich.

Newt Gingrich, and we've had other, you know, national figures. And they are national figures. We're talking vice president of the United States of America. But what I guess I'm saying is that helps to build, it builds a foundation

upon which you could see this being possible because he wouldn't just have been the first national figure. Right, they could say, listen, here's who's already done this. And then you also point to that this is a show with a great moral backbone. It's about public service.

It's about doing good for your community. And so I think you could see how the pitch to his people wouldn't land on deaf ears. I guess. Again, it's not like, Hey, we're doing a Washington DC episode.

It'd be super fun to have Joe Biden. And I mean, Leslie know has talked about any time. She loves him. Right. Right. Loves him. So she almost gave up her career for his phone number.

Right. I mean, literally was going to give up her career. And I could say confidently that it feels like one of those Venn diagram. Everything's working out and yeah you have the show has a great uh story about public service our main character is deeply in love with that character we've just done a whole series of episodes that take place in dc and we've had other national political figures on the show that it creates all the right alchemy to then make the big pitch. Yeah. And then you get him.

And he delivers. Yeah. He's great in this episode. Yeah. And I don't know, was he given lines, do you know? Was he just told to play off of Amy? Absolutely. In fact, I think he's very natural.

I think he ad-libs some, because Amy would definitely do some improv. There's a moment we'll talk about in a second where she even improvs with the Secret Service, who I think are technically in the scene with us. I mean, it's a huge thing. It's a huge thing. This is a get. This is a get. This is a big get.

Yeah, yeah. I mean, here's some of the things that Leslie's talked about Biden over the course of the series so far. She's confided in Anne that her ideal man had the brains of george cluning the body of joe biden right she has said she said that joe is her celebrity sex list she stitched a picture of joe biden's face onto the nope wyatt unity quilt yeah a few episodes

because he's family to her absolutely and considered dropping out of the city council race as jim referred when jennifer barkley attempted to bribe her with Joe Biden's personal phone number. Yeah, she had to give that a second thought. Right. Yeah. And I like how Ben plays the whole thing very cool, casually. You know, he's just like, oh, yeah, and I have a gift for you. And he ushers her into Biden.

And then when she gets so excited, you know, there's that moment where they're kind of hugging. It really seems like she tries to go in for a kiss. Oh, her body is not in her control anymore. Right. It's like the primal Leslie Knope has taken over, right? And it's like, I just am acting on instinct. And the way the then vice president plays it is so funny where he's like, I't know what i'm supposed to what do i do here because it's so it's so awkward and funny and i played back that 10 second at least five times

because she's going for a kiss with the vice president and not like a peck on the cheek kiss she's going in like when couples go in for a kiss in front of her fiancee and secret service and staff members i think you're right the leslie that nope that we know was not there no it was like core leslie yeah it was like i gotta do this yeah she was out of her body yeah this was something that yeah yeah and the best part even heading there before she even sees him when and ben's like well i got you an anniversary gift and she's just she would have been thrilled if it was a waffle tower that That is what she thought it was going to be. So imagine the jump from a waffle tower to Joe Biden.

It's quite a jump. It's quite a jump. So this scene was filmed in July of 2012, but it airs in November after the presidential election to avoid NBC providing unbalanced candidate coverage. There are FEC and equal time rules so the scene had to be filmed and shot and written in a way that would have worked no matter who won the election of 2012 right and so i think there's no reference to all that stuff of the election it's just he's the vice president which was a bit of a fact and we pulled a quote that mike sure talked about about

filming in the white house. Can't even imagine. And Mike said, when the Parks crew set up in his office to shoot the scenes, Biden was tied up in a meeting with President Obama. Oh, just the president. Okay. And then Obama got on Marine One. As you do. And flew away, and Biden walked across the executive building, and we shot the scene. Just, you know.

Just another day. Yeah, yeah. Just another day. Just another day. And I think it's worth saying and i you know we're not a politics podcast by any stretch but this was a time in in the nation where politics was a different uh beast and you know you could disagree on policy but perhaps agree on polity and civility and certain levels and that's why we have a show that had joe biden

eventually michelle obama john mccain mccain gingrich i mean all all sides okay so um well that's our cold open and there's an entire story still to come uh so as i open our synopsis back up back in pawnee ben has decided to leave politics behind in favor of a more steady job in accounting, freeing up time to look over Tom's new business plan. Meanwhile, April presents Leslie with the proposal to create a dog park in Pawnee. And at first, Leslie is thrilled with April's leap of initiative, but her feelings of pride quickly fade once she realizes April intends to use Lot 48 for her project. And on top of all of this, Auntie's computer has gone missing. And he's taking it upon himself to find the culprit.

Okay, so our A story, Leslie versus April. You know, there's a thing we have on the show. We don't have the flowery episode titles that other shows will have sometimes i you know just because i love the show i think of west wing will have these like quite poetic choices instead we have episodes like ponny commons or or you know the ponny eagles and tip-off classic because that's what the episode's about yeah like on third rock from the sun everything had dick in the title right you know from friends uh the one with the one you know certain shows do a very specific title but we also have ones that we have leslie versus ron leslie versus april leslie and ron yeah ron and tammy's

because at the end of the day the episode does boil down to these characters going in some form of head-to-head. And so I say all that because Leslie and April have this strong mother-daughter kind of vibe bond going on in their relationship. And kind of throughout the episodes, especially beginning with the scene when Leslie says, Can you say per capita again? I want to take a picture of you say per capita again right i want to take a picture of you saying per capita like she wants to take a picture of her of her daughter like uh in in the cap and gown at graduation kind of a thing and april's like stop and it's funny because it's it reminds us this is where they are but then very quickly it goes off the rails a bit, right, when April's dedication to this idea of making a dog park bumps in with Leslie's long-term plan of Lot 48.

Which is kind of ballsy of April to do because she knows how important Lot 48 is. She does know it. But this is one of the things I love about April. She's an animal lover, as am I, and that lot kind of would be the perfect dog park. Well, here's my question for you. You're a watcher of this episode. Yes. You're a lover of the show.

Yes. Here we are. Whose side are you on? I'm on. At this point. At this point, just because Jim O'Hare is on April's side. I firmly agree with you. I just am.

And no offense, but Leslie, I mean, she also just met the vice president a few minutes ago in our episode. She has run for city council. She did fill in the pit. She's had all these things. She's had a lot of wins. A lot of wins. Yeah. And it's kind of like, this is a win for you, Leslie. Yes. In a way, making it a dog park is a win for you, even though she has grand plans for this. And so it's this, I, you know, I think in a way that Leslie can't get out of her own way, kind of an episode. Yeah. I think if I were Leslie, I'd be so blown away that April, first of all, is even speaking like this and she's got this great idea. I would have been on board,

but Leslie, you know, has her agenda. She couldn't see past her own goals right to a really good idea like a really good idea yeah her own hubris in a way of like that this is like that this was hers i think it's the kind of thing that i think probably in her core she says i need to see this through i need to see the success yep um but at this point your success is also in the team you've helped build and the people you've helped bring up and so i'm on april's side at this point, your success is also in the team you've helped build and the people you've helped bring up. And so I'm on April's side at this point, but I also don't, it doesn't distance me from the episode. Does that make sense? Oh, no, not at all.

Right. No, no, no. And you know, you know, you're watching it, you know, ultimately these two characters love each other, which actually those words come out. Right. Of April's mouth, which is shocking. Yes. We'll get to that, but yikes. And very important, and I'll tease this so we can talk about it later. It doesn't come out as a, whoa, why are you talking about Oren?

Also, let's remind everyone, Oren is April's friend. He's also terrifying. And April says that Oren has a performance art show. He's an animal living on a human farm and you go and feed him from your own hand and leslie says that's horrifying and so is oran you should not be friends with him another mother-daughter type of a she hates oran yes yeah he's the creepiest thing walking but i love him i know you know yes i love him for how creepy he is yes especially because i think that we got into this thing on the show where the more we saw him, he wouldn't enter a scene like a normal human being would.

He would just be there. Just be there, yeah. Right? In that way that like, oh, maybe you didn't realize it. Makes you think of a Seinfeld episode of a guy who sidles up and you don't know when they're there. Okay, Jim. Ben thinks he needs a more stable job accounting, and he loves accounting enough to be the king, perhaps, of accounting puns, which were always fun to pitch on in the writer's room. And he immediately jumps in for a series of them that are going to hit this episode. the Ben Wyatt voice doing the Sean Connery doing James Bond. But when he says, just call me bond,

municipal bond, uh, is that a home run or is it a cringe moment? To me, they're all cringe and home runs because they're so cringy. They had the effect that they were supposed to have. Okay. 100%.

And Adam nailed his delivery. Yes. You know, I can't do it either, but just call me bond, municipal bond. Yes. And the way he did it, it's his delivery. Yes. You know, I can't do it either, but just call me about municipal bond and the way he did it. It's so funny. Yeah. They're a home run and they're awful all at the same time.

Yeah. And how about that great moment when he's talking to Tom and Chris Traeger and Chris says, you know, fun fact, Ben just got an amazing accounting job. Regular fact. I have to go to a meeting. Unfun fact, my uncle just had a stroke. And then he stares. And he stares, and no one knows what to do. It's like, okay, well, I'm off.

Gotta go. Oh, my God. Unfun fact. Unfun fact. Perhaps good in life that we don't burden everyone with unfun facts, but maybe we should. You know, that life isn't just an Instagram reel of success. But Chris is all about good news. Yeah.

Ben was the bad news guy. Chris is the good news guy. Right. So he's an unfun fact. He does sadly have an unfun fact. Yeah. And it's about his uncle. Lastly, Andy's investigation begins saying something is different about my computer.

And then realizing, aha, it's gone. A game is the foot. The foot. I was there for game is the foot. The foot. I was there for that line. Yes. So funny. Yes. They had to do it a bunch of times.

Kept breaking. He's so earnest. Yes. Yes. He's so earnest. A game is the foot. He thinks he's being so smart. Yes.

And we got to remember, he knows he's going to try to be a policeman at this point. So now there's, his whole world is focused on investigation and figuring things out right now he's got a case right it's not just like a fun little side story or runner for him there's merit to his life now and being good at this he has a goal it makes me think of when we had chris pratt on um the podcast very early on and he would talk about this kind of clown-like character he'd been developing for a long time, like in just in his acting

and life and like this, this kind of, yeah, doofus-y, big-hearted clown in a way, and how Andy was the perfect fit for that. Yeah. And you see that version

of the character in this episode. He leads the story as opposed to, I think, being a comedy relief in the story he leads the sea story um and he get that great moment when he's with donna talking about if she took she took the computer and she says something you know and she's like i was in miami last week i took my talents to south beach and just the way she said i took my talents to south

which is a reference to uh the decision which is an ESPN hour-long special where LeBron James announced that, quote, I'm going to take my talents to South Beach and sign with the Miami Heat. Yeah. So we like to pull from real life. You know, Retta has her style, her delivery, and it just nails it every time. okay back to our synopsis always one to tackle a problem head-on leslie shows april alternate sites around punny you know not lot 48 but alternate sites around punny for her proposed dog park but when april doesn't jump at any of them leslie takes a different tack now joining april on a trip to oran's human farm in an effort to distract april and lead her in perhaps another direction yeah she's going to show april this other places we can still do your great idea

she's so proud of her idea which she should because really for april to come up with this wonderful and thought-out plan yeah awesome so she takes her around, but she's showing her absolute garbage dumps. Yeah. Literally garbage dumps. Yeah. Where there is what appears to be a waste of different types.

Yes, yes, yes. Liquid and hazardous and perhaps fecal. I don't know, but it did look like maybe. Yeah. And are you saying that perhaps Leslie should have been more clever and shown her something? I think Leslie should have been more clever. Yes. And Anne's with her.

You know, Anne's here going on these, on this little tour also, which first of all, I love any time there's an Anne and April in the scene because I love April's disdain for Anne. I just love it. But it's interesting because Anne's so necessary in this. She's a. She's a mediator. I just love it. Um, but it's interesting because, uh, Ann's so necessary in this. Uh, she's a, she's a mediator. Leslie's best friend.

Yeah. But you know, if she agrees with, with April in some way, that tells you something. Yeah. She probably would seek a reason to not agree with April on something. April is pretty rotten to her.

Yeah. Yeah. For the years. Yes. But so one of the things Leslie says is so that she's gonna she's got to figure out a way to get april not thinking about lot 48 so she goes i have created a monster and now i need to destroy her right right right right that's leslie and she tells april she would do anything to not have her bring up the proposal right at the city council meeting

and i love april i learned the way opry plays it. And, you know, April suggests Leslie, like, cut off her pinky toe. No. No, and just shave her head. No. And have sex with Jerry. No. And then April, well, I tried to be reasonable. Tried to be reasonable.

Yeah. I've given you everything I could give you. And, you know, we get this great scene where Leslie goes to Ron, bringing him into the episode. It's a little quiet in today's ep. Asking him how are the ways that he would slow her down when she was being too, quote, me-ish, right? And he would say he'd give busy work.

He had her put together a brochure on different kinds of Indiana topsoil. Mulch to do about nothing. That's a great line. Mulch to do about nothing. Took her to JJ's for distraction waffles and breakfast food can serve many purposes. And then finally, Leslie has the idea to distract and slow April down by taking her to Oren's human farm. The last place Leslie would ever, ever want to be. Do you see the egg in the background where there's like a chicken with that woman yeah

yeah that was creepy i'm pretty sure that that's one of the eggs that we made for uh from jurassic fork from jurassic fork really repurposed i think you know what now that you're saying this i believe that that is a fact yes i believe i heard that too yes and also a little behind the scenes gossip here okay at the top of that scene when they begin we see uh you know what looks to be some extras in the scene one of those extras was miguel we called him miggy that's right and he's at the top of the scene and he was one of our stand-ins mostly for our z's but you know our stand-ins there were women who stood in for me sometimes. Yeah, yeah. It was a whole, it was all over. But he was one of our regulars. Oh, that's great.

And I love when I see that. Yes, yes. It's a funny story, especially for people who know the crew. Exactly, because Mickey was with us for a lot of years. And so it brought a big smile to my face. Let's keep pushing forth with our episode and our synopsis, Jim. Having reviewed Tom's business plan and deciding it's solid, Ben agrees to help Tom form some connections with local businesses, and Sweetums is their first stop. partnership explaining the need to lay low in the wake of a recent and deadly molasses mishap but ends up offering Ben

a job heading up their new non-profit sector instead. Meanwhile, fed up with Leslie's gaslighting, April enlists the help of Councilman Jam to get her project passed. And Andy continues his Parks Department

interrogations with Jerry now in the hot seat. Lots going on there. Yes. I love Jessica Wicks. I love Sweetums. There's nothing I love more than that. They have had, because Ben explains it to us, Sweetums molasses storage vat exploded, resulting in the slow-moving ecological disaster. What the hell has gone down?

That would probably make national news. Yeah. But I wonder if it would be like, and meanwhile, in Pawnee, Indiana. I guess. Right? Yeah. Well, we have in some of our research that the molasses mishap seems perhaps almost ripped from the headlines. This mishap seems perhaps almost ripped from the headlines.

In Boston, Massachusetts, on January 15th, 1919, a molasses tank at 529 Commercial Street exploded under pressure. There were 150 non-fatal injuries. 21 people died. And yes, so Jim, that goes back to your point that you'd think that this would be national news. Yes. And maybe it was. But the bottom line is swedens is in trouble they have got to watch how they're being perceived now and and ben gets a job and ben gets a job offer and it begins this fun run of ben getting his job offers and tom getting more and more

frustrated that no success is coming his way yeah but it's just people are just like tripping over themselves to give ben an opportunity everywhere he turns, someone's offering him a job. Right. Technically, the Sweden's offer is the third job offer to come Ben's way so far. The first being the accounting one that happened off screen. The second one being Tom offering Ben to be CFO of Rent-A-Swag. Chief financial officer. I'm very, very smart about that stuff.

CFO. You're like, Greg, you don't have to spell it out it out yeah jim let's talk about your scene with pratt uh so andy says he's been looking at jerry's file this is just a pure psych gag and he's been looking at jerry's file all day and the file is just an empty folder nothing in in it. Oh my God. It's so stupid. It's so funny. Yeah. So can I tell you something?

I want you to talk about it. You don't see Jerry and anybody be on like kind of the same page, really the same energy, the same like, no, I didn't do it. And oh, really? And you're both just kind of like, oh, okay. Let's just go on with our lives. It must've been so fun. So fun. He didn't mock't mock me yeah he didn't put a pie in my face yeah he didn't do anything he just agreed yeah i told him i didn't do it and he agreed okay all right well all right

well get back to work yeah yeah but no working with him as we all know is you know it's just laughs just a lot of laughs and so i would love those scenes okay as i reopen our synopsis fed up with leslie's stymieing and confident of jam support april goes in front of the city council to get her dog park approved but much to her dismay councilman jeremy jam immediately flips on her revealing his real plans to sell Lot 48 to Ponch Burger for a large profit. Meanwhile, Ben continues to try and garner support for Tom's new business on Small Business Today. But instead of granting a profile, the host of the show offers Ben a correspondent position on a new political chat show they're doing. And back at the Parks department andy realizes the theft

might be part of a larger string of robberies in city hall yeah april has made a terrible terrible terrible mistake terrible mistake in going to jam and believing jam right jam is a terrible person and he has one agenda and it's jam right but she falls for it right everybody thinks at some point that they can control the devil right but the devil gets you yeah oh yes yeah and it's so funny she gets jammed she got jammed and jance is seeing is how the future of lot 48 is open for debate i move we sell the punch burger for a nice profit and april looks so distraught genuinely hurt that jam lied to her and leslie feels bad knew it was likely going to happen you can realize how this is going to unite them in the end if they can just get over

perhaps this emotional problem they have between the two of them but leslie had warned her don't go jam is bad like she and that's again another you know just human nature is haha i told you so that's not leslie's reaction no it's very much like, oh, gosh, he got her. I tried to warn her. I know. And I feel so bad for her because he did that. She's not, I told you so. She's heartbroken for her.

But it also, it goes back to what we were talking about in the beginning, that Leslie has this deep attachment to Lot 48, and here April has had this realization that it's maybe not so simple and that you can't trust the bad guy here, Jeremy Jam. But also, Lot 48 looks like it's about to be gone for Leslie too, right? Yeah, Ponch Burger. He's going to sell it. It's going to be a Ponch Burger. five-year march to a park behind ann perkins house is about to become just like a you know a smash burger place yeah and i love ann mentioned something about i'm paraphrasing but something

about um i don't want to pause but you know it's terrible for it's this this this it's terrible terrible terrible and she goes and plus i would eat it every day if it was behind yeah yeah yeah i feel that way about a lot of. Oh, I am. Absolutely. I feel that way. I have been gone to places and I'll leave thing. Thank God. This isn't near my house. Yeah.

Yeah. Because I would be in this place every damn day. Right. So that's Anne's dilemma here. That's Anne's dilemma. Yes. Uh, I want to talk about the scene at small business today with Brian raisins. First, another great character name. Yep. That is Paul rust. The Today with Brian Raisins. First, another great character name.

Yep. That is Paul Rust. The actor is Brian Raisins. Paul and our episode writer, Harris Whittles, were great friends. Oh, I didn't know that. Very, very, very good friends. We're two of three members of this,

I think the style is like weirdo band, pop weirdo band called Don't Stop or We'll Die, along with Michael Cassidy. And plus, Paul did some writing on Human Giant, the sketch comedy show that starred Paul Scheer, Rob Hubel, and Aziz Ansari. So it was very cool to see Paul rust in this. This is making sense to me now because he was so familiar to me. I'm like, how do I know this guy? Yeah.

And now I know. Yeah. And we get another scene where Tom gets to be speechless after another job offer comes Ben's way. Which, you know, what I would love is for Ben to take that job to see him on live television every day doing, you know, some financial update. That would be worth everything. Right. But we've seen him on. Oh, we've seen him.

It's not good. He's not good. Yeah. It's not good. It's just a pool of sweat yeah speaking um let's forge on jim as we get back into city hall leslie and april are duking it out until they realize the real enemy in the lot 48 dispute is not each other it's councilman jam uh and fed up with ben's slew of job offers tom considers throwing in the towel on rent a swag until ben convinces him otherwise yeah if you're going to go back and re-watch this episode there is a moment jerry comes walking in yes hey how's it going with the dog park but watch rashida watch aka and herkins yes reaction i haven't seen her i mean it is hardcore get out of here like i'm almost like was rashida pissed at me that day

like i'm telling you it came from her gut in fact she is the most extreme of the group yes like april just is like jerry get out of here and they're like go and nobody wants you or something like that right doesn't she yell that like nobody wants you here awful it's really dark yes you really have to go back and see it's a great moment but also like you jerry comes in and be like hey how's that dog park coming casual just a casual co-worker wondering how the project is. Concerned, really wondering. Well, all right, I'm off. And then Ron guarded the door, right?

Yeah. So that doesn't happen again. So God forbid Jerry comes back in. Yeah, yeah. And then, you know, your desk is right outside the window. So now we just have a scene of you just sitting there. Staring. Having been yelled at to remove yourself from the premises pretty much.

But notice when I was yelled at in typical Jerry fashion. Okay. Okay. Well, I'm going to move on with my life because I'm married to Christy Brinkley and I have three beautiful daughters. I'll go home and have a wonderful life. Yeah. The joke's going to be on you. You have no idea my future.

Yeah. Hung like a horse and I got a beautiful wife. Let's move on, people. Okay, so we have a classic kind of season two, season three type of solution to a problem for Leslie in this episode, right? Where it's like, all right, I need a clever solution that gets me my way. And she and April and Anne have turned Councilman Jam's lawn into the dog park. It's the ultimate revenge, really. It's such a great scene.

It's so cute. Especially when Leslie says, well, I have this idea, but it's a dick move. Yeah. You're like, yeah. Yeah. Right.

It's perhaps like a slightly meaner version of what she would have done in the earlier seasons, which is I'm in a very particular predicament and I need a very clever solution. Yeah. And this one perhaps is a little meaner because it really, you know, it's the invasion of private property. Turning Jam's front lawn, his private property, into a dog park, which is really cute also just to see all these people with their dogs having fun, their children playing. It's also great. We get to see Jam's house. He owns a bright yellow Hummer and a Corvette. I guess orthodontia in

Pawnee actually really does do very well. And you get that great detail of Jam drinking water zero. Sweden's water zero, which as we learned has actually no water in it. There's a dog humping his garden gnome. And damn it, that dog was humping that garden gnome. How'd that happen? We get that great line from Leslie when she says, you just got noped and

ludgated and Perkins-ed. And the Jam, you know, haha, nice try, didn't work you just cut jam you know his jam is saying it didn't work yeah as if that's a jam yeah all right buddy i think it did work no secret here but my god glazer is so great so great he's so great as jam he's just smarmy and gross and a liar like he has one agenda and it's himself. Yes. And it's what makes for a great character.

Yep. You're right. Well, we're going to wrap up our episode in our synopsis. In the tag, Ben reports for work at Tilton and Radomski, our accounting firm. But when he sees a cookie basket of calculators and his name plaque on the desk, he quits immediately. Immediately. Immediately.

With very little remorse. Just, oh no, this isn't happening. Yeah. You know, Ben is in the moment. He's been building up this thing. He's like, I think I know what I want. I want this thing. I want reality.

I want a real job. I want normality to it. And shows up. And sometimes you don't know what you want until you're in the, that moment of living. When you know what you don't want. Right. Yeah. And you feel it in your gut as you're actually living that reality.

And that was Ben here. Um, when we started this podcast and I realized Greg was my partner saying, Oh God, no. But then I thought, Oh, I signed a contract.

So like, then it was like kind of stuck. You know what I'm saying? It's kind of like that. It's kind of like that. I don like, oh, God, no. But then I thought, oh, I signed a contract. So then I was kind of stuck. You know what I'm saying? It's kind of like that. It's kind of like that. I don't understand what you're saying, but as Bird Halfway would say,

it has the cadence of a joke. Speaking of our extended family, John Balma is so hilarious in this scene. Brilliant. His character Barney, so excited to have Ben back, doesn't hold

it against ben for quitting it again and as we talked about we actually got a chance to sit down with john to talk about this scene as well as some of his other appearances throughout the series and here is what he said jim this is great because we have John Balma here with us today. Barney Varm. Hello. How would you pronounce your character's last name? Varm.

Varm. It's V-A-R-M-N. I try to pronounce the N, but it's very difficult. It is. There was a time when Barney Varm had several more Ns in his name. Oh, really? Yeah, but I think it was deemed too crazy. We know you as the accountant who will first appear in Leslie's house.

You'll be in nine episodes of Parks and Recreation. And now you're in this episode of Parks and Recollection. Tell us a little bit about your time on the show and from going from that first episode to the Barney we know and love. It was the happiest set I'd ever been on. The crew just seemed to be having so much fun. And I love that. You know, it's kind of fun when you go in and there's an infectious spirit around.

I don't remember the names of the sound guys, but those guys were always having a good time. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. sound guys but those guys were always having a good time yeah yeah yeah mitch would do these um boom taps where he would he mostly did it to the extras but he would tap their shoulder with the boom now the boom is the is the microphone that's on the big big big long stick right so he tapped their shoulder then he'd fling it up in the air and the people would be looking around because someone just tapped their shoulder but it makes no sense. Like, where did this come from? Yeah. But let me tell you, I, I love that you say that about the set, because I have said that for, to anyone

who will listen, you know, I'm a thousand years old. I've been on hundreds of shows. It feels like over the years and nothing was ever like Parks. Parks was loose and fun. You know, I mean, everyone was doing their job, but it just, I don't know, I was happy to be there. Your first episode, Leslie's House. So you play an accountant who's teaching a class. You have a very, perhaps, dry presentation about QuickBooks Pro. Yes, yes. And that was the audition to be as deadpan as possible. That's what they were looking for.

Wyatt. And Ben, in this episode, doing his accounting puns, there's a scene at the end of it where he comes in to start his job and then winds up leaving it, realizing he needs other things in his life. No offense to accountants and accounting. But your joy and the way you play the joy of being with him and hearing these puns and this this like joyful exasperation so to speak you were my favorite recurring character wow that's a big statement for sure and wow and you know yes that's amazing that's awesome we love our we love our jean ralphios and everything but oh my gosh it cracks me up i love it i was excited. I am still so excited to get to talk to you. And that's why I want to get to know about how you felt as this character evolved and became perhaps goofier and sillier.

I think about the single take you shot with Ben Schwartz when he starts the job and quits. And so as you got to keep coming back and your character kept growing in this way, how would you find these extra little kernels and corners of Barney? Well, I'll tell you, I was very concerned that I was not the same character I started out because they gave me so much more to do. Sure. And sort of Barney's childlike enthusiasm started bubbling up so I was a little concerned about that I also I could never ever there was so much time between appearances I could never remember what my haircut was if you if you track it it really changed and the glasses changed.

It's so good. It's so great. I'm trying to remember the first time they really let me out of the box. It might have been the third episode when I got my first office. I think that's when you start shouting for Ted off screen. Yeah. He's got to hear what Ben just said. Yeah.

I think when we start to, that once you have a character start to play off another person that we don't just shouting for Ted. Okay. So, so Bernie and Ted have a whole relationship and that's interesting. Right. Separate from Bernie with our main characters. Right. And Bernie is also the nicest man that has ever walked the planet. He is such, because Ben really puts you through it through it i mean he gets you up and then he puts you down and he builds you many times and yet you're still so lovely about it yeah but he kept coming back it's in the script it was in the script yes at some point i i decided barney had a crush on Adam. Oh, that's great. And I remember a discussion with costuming. We couldn't remember if I had ever worn a wedding ring. And I said, let's not.

Because if we do, we may have an issue with what's going on between Barney and Adam. I couldn't decide if maybe he was a little gay or maybe he wasn't, and he was just so excited by numbers. Yes. Yeah. I kind of like that there might have been a crush. Yeah, yeah. I mean, look, if he is gay, Ben walks in.

He's a nice looking man he's nailing it all with the little yeah that would be an easy crush they have something great in common yes right yes yes i kind of love our love of accounting you know um can you tell us a bit about be beyond um you were told to be a little more deadpan what the audition process was like for you? Did you know the show? Like, were you aware of the show? Oh, yeah.

I knew the show. I also knew the casting director. We were in an acting class together at one point. With Dorian Frankel? Yes. And she called me in, and the moment I saw the sides, I was like, oh, deadpan. That's why I'm being called in. Because I had a reputation for that.

I never expected it to be a recurring part. You know, it was the audition was one episode. So I was completely surprised almost every time they called me back until probably Cones of Dunshire. And then I knew I was pretty solid and nice. Yeah. Good comeback. But you had to have realized that your character was becoming beloved. Yeah,

I did. Did you feel that like out in the world? Oh, very much. Yeah. There, there, there came a point when I couldn't go to the store without doing selfies.

And, and you start to notice people staring at you and looking embarrassed and all that. That was very fun. You know, I also love how Ben gets to do these accounting puns, right? And he gets to do these little jokes that tickle him. And I was pulling up some of the favorites. And, you know, he says, well, formulas are my formula.

Formula. Right? That's the reaction from a normal human being. Yes. And you think, that's not a great pun. No. No, it's not. But to Barney.

To Barney is gold. To Barney, it's, yeah, it's the stand-up set. Yeah. What was the one, you guys, during the telethon episode? Oh, God. And that's a quick look, a quick book. Bro. Yeah. What was the one, you guys, during the telethon episode? Oh, God. And that's a quick look, a quick book. Bro. Yes.

That's such a great moment. When it comes to preparing taxes, the only thing that's taxing is deciding which software to buy. Oh. Yes. Yes. Oh, each one cringier than the other. Yes. Exactly.

But, of course, the king of all of them is calculator. Calculator. When Ben is saying goodbye. Yes. People still come up to me and say that on the street. Yeah. Well, John, thank you so much for being here with us. We got Barney hanging out with us.

Thank you. It's a joy to have you with us today. Thank you so much, my God. Thank you, John. It was great. Thank you. Thank you so much my god thank you john it was great thank you thank you so much okay that was awesome john is such a great guy it's fun to catch up with him see what's happening in life his character as you have said yourself is one of the greatest my favorite your favorite that's a huge my favorite recurring character absolutely

god barney varm and john ballman correct me yeah and him saying uh quick pro yes well kill me forever yes yeah anyway we love talking to him um well jim uh we've come to the end of our episode but not the end of our podcast episode because we got to talk about the crap we didn't get to because there's some crap we didn't get to talk to us talk to us i will tell you this so one of the things that was funny when Andy is talking to Jerry about the loss of the computer and he's saying, you have to tell me or it's considered entrapment. That makes absolutely no sense. No. But in his mind, that is absolutely what this is.

Yeah, I know a detective term and that's it. Yeah. And then I also, when April is giving her presentation to the city council and Leslie, as if no one would see her do this, go boo, boo, boo. And Leslie's like, well, I can see a lot of people are against it. We should stop it. And April goes, really? I just heard one hag booing. Love that.

Love that. Called her a hag. And then during their fight in the conference room, when Ann is mediating, April is just randomly saying, Leslie's a mouse eater. What the hell? And she goes, yes, you are. Yes. And Leslie, I don't eat mice.

Hysterical. That just, that just killed me. When they find their resolution in the conference room and April says to Leslie, I love you too. And I don't want to do this in front of her, meaning Ann, but the way she says, I love you too. Because that's so, you know, that those words do not fall out of her mouth easily. I love that.

That was like, that was a happy, happy moment in my heart. And that's some of the crap we didn't get to. All right. Well, let's flush that segment down with our final thoughts on the episode. I mean, I'll say for me, I think, you know, like I said, this episode ultimately boils down to Leslie versus April.

And, you know, this is an episode that's about personal growth when you think about it. You have April taking initiative with her project as she's doing more

than just assisting in the office or perhaps being told what to do. She's deciding, I want to do... She created a presentation. Yeah, I want to do something.

You have Tom continuing to take his newest venture seriously. Andy is realizing that being police officer isn't going to be like starring in just an action movie. Just a lot of paperwork. There's a real J-O-B job happening here. And Ben takes a brave leap away from the boring but safe job he feels like he should be taking. So, you know, while maybe it feels like a bunch of comedy games, ultimately everyone's going through that realization of what personal growth really means. Yeah. And we should say of all the jobs that Ben has offered, he takes the one with Tom.

Yeah. I mean, that's a little gutsy too, even though Tom is obviously changing a little. It's still, you're saying my career now is going to be with Tom Haverford. Right. It's helpful for us as we about to really start a Rent-A-Swag arc and storyline for Tom to get one of our other main characters in there so that when you think of stories, the two of them are already naturally paired. And we know how well these characters do together. I still think of one of my favorite bloopers from the show is with them and john calamezzo having a meal together um the two of them the actors clearly have great chemistry and enjoy doing things together the characters are

funny and no other character makes fun of ben as much as tom yeah so and in joan's behalf john calamezzo sometimes you do have to powder your vagina. Well, she said, I need to powder my nose amongst other things. And they assume. Assumed it was.

Yes. It's her, you know. And boy, if that doesn't cap off an episode, I don't know what does. Well, I'll tell you, it gives parties and jobs.

My friends, we talked about it. There's a runner and we've called it out, but Ben gets five job offers. Sweden'sprofit wing correspondent for a new political chat show management position

to Urban Outfitters. CFO of Rent-A-Swag. And of course, Ben starts and leaves the accounting job at Tilton and Radomski. We have a present, Ben's engagement present

to Leslie of the Biden meet and greet. You know, Joe Biden talking about here. Chris offers Andy a job as a part-time security guard for City Hall. And Ben gets that calculator cookie gift basket when he starts the job. And I guess maybe his food for himself on the way home after he quits that job. That's a gift. Yeah, he was there for, what, two and a half minutes.

So I would think at least a gift basket. Yeah. Yeah. Well, Jim, we've done it. We've come to the end of another episode, a great episode, Leslie versus April. And we have so many more to do.

It's sad that we have to say goodbye, but. We'll be back. But we'll be back. Yes. So thank you all for listening. Text this episode to your group, Jack,

give us five star reviews, wherever you happen to be listening to us. And from all of us here at Parks and Recollection, goodbye from Pawnee. Bye-bye. Parks and Recollection is produced by me, Lisa Berm, and engineered by Joanna Samuel. The podcast is executive produced by Jeff Ross,

Adam Sachs, Colin Anderson, and Nick Liao. Paula Davis, Gina Batista, and Brit Kahn are our talent bookers, along with assistance from Maddie Ogden. Our 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. collection. This has been a Team Cocoa production.